Home sellers in Britain cut asking prices on more than 3,000 properties daily during September, the highest monthly rate in 15 years, according to Rightmove data shared with the BBC.
The average price reduction was nearly 7%, equivalent to roughly £21,000 off a typically valued home. Rightmove attributed the surge to an oversupply of homes on the market and sellers setting unrealistic initial prices. The proportion of listed homes receiving price cuts reached 34% in September, only slightly below the recent peak of 36% in September 2023.
Homes that needed price reductions took an average of 119 days to sell, compared with 39 days for properties listed at one price. Richard Donnell, executive director of research at Rightmove, said properties requiring price cuts were half as likely to find a buyer within the normal three-month timeframe.
The housing market faces headwinds from mortgage rates at three-year highs. Zoopla reported that while homes for sale rose 5% year-over-year in September, sales agreed fell 9% over the same period. Buyers "are in the driving seat" and selective about viewings, Zoopla said, as they work to keep monthly mortgage payments affordable.
Colleen Babcock of Rightmove noted that buyers question properties after a price cut appears, even when nothing is wrong with the home. "In a market with so much choice, first impressions matter," she said.
Zoopla found that a quarter of newly-listed homes in September had previously been listed within the last year, and six in ten were returning at lower asking prices. These relisted properties took longer to sell.
Tarah Lourens, chief operating officer at Rightmove, said sellers applied "emotional" valuations based on time and money invested, while buyers considered only properties within budget. Craig Webster, an agent at Tiger Sales and Lettings in Blackpool, said getting the initial price correct when listing was essential to capture active buyers' attention.
Katie Griffin, a surveyor at Sawdye and Harris in Devon, cautioned that correcting a mispriced listing could lead sellers to accept less than even revised asking prices, as buyers wonder why a property has sat unsold for months.
In Scotland, the mandatory Home Report system, which requires independent valuation before listing, appears more effective. Donnell's data showed 74% of Scottish homes listed during April-June sold within three months, compared with 30% in London.