Home sellers in Britain reduced asking prices on an average of more than 3,000 properties daily during September, figures from Rightmove shared with the BBC indicate. This marks the highest monthly total for price cuts in 15 years.
Rightmove stated that a surplus of homes on the market and some sellers setting unrealistic expectations contributed to this trend. The proportion of listed homes that eventually saw a price cut reached a peak in 2023 and has remained relatively high since.
The average price reduction was nearly 7%, which equates to almost £21,000 off a typically valued home. Data from Rightmove also showed that homes with a price reduction typically took 119 days to find a buyer, significantly longer than the 39 days for properties listed at their initial price.
Rival property portal Zoopla noted that buyers are becoming more cautious and selective, partly due to mortgage rates reaching a three-year high. While the number of homes for sale increased by 5% in September compared to the previous year, the number of sales agreed fell by 9% over the same period.