One-in-five home sellers forced to drop asking price

Over-optimistic house sellers who end up having to reduce their asking price typically see the property take more than twice as long to sell as those more competitively priced from the outset.
The finding comes in analysis from Zoopla, the property website, which said that while all key measures of activity in the housing market are higher than they were at this point last year, it remains a buyers’ market.
There have been 23 per cent more sales agreed so far in 2024 than in the opening seven months of last year, according to Zoopla, while the number of would-be buyers inquiring with estate agents is up by a fifth.
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On average, asking prices have increased by 1.4 per cent so far in 2024, with prices rising fastest in Belfast, Manchester and Liverpool.
Despite the market rebounding after a near two-year slump as mortgage rates have retreated, Richard Donnell, executive director of research at Zoopla, said that buyers “remain price-sensitive”.
One in five homes currently on the market has had its asking price cut by 5 per cent or more, Zoopla’s data shows. That is “above average”, albeit slightly lower than last autumn, when the market was still paralysed by spiralling mortgage rates.
Homes that have their asking prices reduced take 73 days on average to sell, while those that are more competitively priced from the outset and do not need to be discounted stay on the market for 28 days.
“Buyers have less purchasing power than two or three years ago … meaning sellers can’t afford to get ahead of themselves on where to set the right price for their home,” Donnell said.
There remains a north-south divide in the market, with prices in northern towns and cities generally higher than they were a year ago, whereas prices in the east and southeast of England, typically popular with London commuters, have fallen slightly.
Generally, though, momentum is building. Zoopla estimates that 1.1 million flats and houses will be bought and sold this year, up from 1 million in 2023 but still below the long-term average of 1.2 million. Prices are forecast to rise 2.5 per cent this year.
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The improving outlook chimes with other recent surveys of estate agents and trading updates from major housebuilders, all of which have said would-be buyers are re-emerging.
Donnell put the pick-up in the market down to improving affordability and consumer confidence, which is encouraging those who have delayed their plans over the past couple of years to look again at moving.
As a consequence, estate agents have more homes to sell than at any point since 2017, with each branch having on average 33 active listings, twice as many as they had at the peak of the pandemic property boom. Donnell expects that the extra stock will help to keep price rises in check.