Home sellers cut asking prices on 3,000 properties a day

Image source, Getty ImagesByKevin PeacheyCost of living correspondentPublished4 hours agoHome sellers cut asking prices on more than 3,000 properties a day on average in Britain during September, according to figures from Rightmove shared exclusively with the BBC.

The property website said the total was the highest of any month for 15 years and was driven, in part, by a glut of homes on the market and some sellers setting unrealistic expectations.

The proportion of listed homes that eventually had a price cut peaked in 2023 and has remained relatively high since.

Property portals say buyers are now having to be choosy, with many working to a tight budget as mortgage rates have risen to three-year highs.

"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," said Colleen Babcock of Rightmove.

Rightmove data said the average price reduction was nearly 7% - the equivalent of nearly £21,000 cut from a typically valued home.

Its data showed that homes that had a price reduction typically took 119 days to find a buyer, compared with 39 days for those listed at one price.

The proportion of listed homes that had a price reduction stood at 34% in last month, only slightly lower than the recent peak of 36% seen in September 2023.

Rival property portal Zoopla said that buyers were in the driving seat, and were being more cautious and selective about the properties they viewed.

With mortgage rates at a three-year high, Zoopla said buyers needed to keep monthly mortgage payments affordable.

So, while the number of homes for sale was up 5% in September compared with a year earlier, the number of sales agreed had fallen by 9% over the same period, its figures showed.

September also tends to be the month with the most cuts to asking prices as sellers often want to complete a sale by the end of the year.