Home sellers slash asking prices on over 3,000 UK properties daily in September

Homeowners in Britain reduced the asking price on more than 3,000 properties each day on average during September, according to data from Rightmove that the BBC obtained exclusively. The figure represents the highest monthly total in the past 15 years and reflects a surplus of homes on the market together with sellers who set overly optimistic price expectations. The share of listings that eventually received a price cut reached its peak in 2023 and has stayed relatively high since then.

One seller, Stewart from Leicester, explained that some homes were being filtered out of buyers’ search results. He has sold one property and is now trying to sell his late mother’s home, both of which include leasehold elements that many buyers are now avoiding. Stewart said there is no single factor that determines whether a house will sell at a particular price. “Part of the issue is trying to work out the right selling price. Properties were on the market high and low but were not selling,” he said. He rejected an offer made a day after his home was listed because it was below the asking price, hoping for better offers that never arrived. After 18 months on the market, he sold the house for £30,000 less than the original asking price.

Colleen Babcock of Rightmove said, “Once a home has been on the market for a while and then has a price reduction, some buyers start asking questions, even when there is nothing wrong with the property. In a market with so much choice, first impressions matter.” She added that buyers are now being more selective as mortgage rates have risen to three‑year highs.

Rightmove’s analysis showed that the average price cut was almost 7 percent – roughly £21,000 off a typical home. Homes that received a reduction took an average of 119 days to sell, compared with 39 days for properties that remained at their original price. In September, 34 percent of listed homes had a price cut, only slightly below the recent peak of 36 percent recorded in September 2023.

Competing portal Zoopla said buyers are now in control, exercising caution and being selective about the properties they view. With mortgage rates at a three‑year high, Zoopla warned that buyers need to keep monthly payments affordable. While the number of homes for sale rose 5 percent in September compared with a year earlier, the number of sales agreed fell 9 percent over the same period, according to Zoopla data. September also traditionally sees the most price reductions, as sellers aim to complete transactions before year‑end. Zoopla noted that a quarter of newly listed homes in September had previously been on the market during the past year, and six out of ten were returning with a lower asking price.

Richard Donnell, executive director of research at Zoopla, said properties that required a price cut were half as likely to sell within the usual three‑month window. “Our flat has been for sale for four years,” he remarked, questioning the market’s weakness.

Sellers who contacted the BBC’s Your Voice highlighted the challenges posed by a flood of listings and the added difficulty of selling leasehold homes in England. One seller in south Wales, disposing of his late father’s house, described the market as “dead. Lots for sale; no‑one buying. No‑one thinks it’s going to get easier.”

Tarah Lourens, chief operating officer at Rightmove, said emotional factors often influence sellers’ pricing decisions, as they “put a value on the time and money they have invested in their home.” She added that buyers simply assess what they can afford.

Estate agents now rely on extensive data to set valuations. Craig Webster of Tiger Sales and Lettings in Blackpool stressed the importance of getting the initial price right to attract active buyers. Katie Griffin of surveyors Sawdye and Harris in Devon warned that correcting a price later can lead sellers to accept offers below even the revised asking price, noting that “the property may already have been online for several months and buyers can start asking why it has not sold.”

Andrew Boast, chief executive of SAM Conveyancing, suggested that sellers who negotiated aggressively when buying and saw their property appreciate may not be losing out despite a later reduction. In Scotland, the Home Report system requires an independent valuation before a property is listed, providing sellers with a pricing guide. Donnell said this system helps homes sell faster there; his data showed 74 percent of Scottish homes listed in April, May and June sold within three months, compared with 30 percent in London. He attributed slower sales in southern England to higher prices, stamp duty and fewer sellers, including landlords, needing to move.

Graphics by BBC data journalist Tommy Lumby.