This article is an external press release originally published on the Landlord News website, which has now been migrated to the Just Landlords blog.
Gone are the days when offering alluring charm to a house vendor could lead to a reduced selling price, according to a new survey.
Research from property portal Zoopla has found that a British home sells for just 6.05% under it’s original asking price. This represents the lowest level in the past five years.
Discounts
Despite the lower discounts, the research found that 31% of homes currently on the market have had their asking price reduced at least once since being originally listed. This alone amounts to in excess of £2bn in reductions from houses and flats currently for sale in the UK.
The top-ten areas of the UK with the highest percentage of property with cut asking prices are in the North of England. Rotherham tops the pile, with 43.6% of all properties listed. Preston (43.2% and Barnsley (42.3%) came in second and third.
Full listings of the top-ten areas with the greatest proportion of homes with asking price reductions were:
| Top 10 Areas With Highest Proportion of Asking Price Reductions | ||||
| Rank | Area | % of Homes on Market Reduced | Average Price Reduction (%) | Average Price Reduction (£) |
| 1 | Rotherham | 43.6% | 7.4% | £11,193 |
| 2 | Preston | 43.2% | 6.8% | £14,235 |
| 3 | Barnsley | 42.3% | 7.4% | £10,331 |
| 4 | Wolverhampton | 41.2% | 7.0% | £11,236 |
| 5 | Blackpool | 38.9% | 9.8% | £14,017 |
| 6 | Chesterfield | 38.8% | 6.5% | £12,494 |
| 7 | Blackburn | 38.6% | 7.9% | £12,437 |
| 8 | Wakefield | 38.5% | 7.2% | £14,465 |
| 9 | Wirral | 37.8% | 6.4% | £15,643 |
| 10 | Huddersfield | 37.2% | 6.4% | £12,740 |
Fall in asking price reductions
Bargains
With regards to the areas where the greatest reductions are currently to be found, Blackpool (9.8%), Manchester (8.3%) and Bradford (7.9%) are the best regions for bargain hunters. London (7.4%) also features in the top-ten, with discounts in the capital exceeding £75,000 on average.
The top-ten places with the largest asking price reductions were found to be:
| Rank | Area | Average Price Reduction | Average Price Reduction (£) | % of Homes on Market Reduced |
| 1 | Blackpool | 9.8% | £14,017 | 38.9% |
| 2 | Manchester | 8.3% | £15,437 | 31.2% |
| 3 | Bradford | 7.9% | £11,120 | 32.2% |
| 4 | Blackburn | 7.9% | £12,437 | 38.6% |
| 5 | Coventry | 7.6% | £17,317 | 31.0% |
| 6 | Liverpool | 7.5% | £12,990 | 34.8% |
| 7 | Pontefract | 7.5% | £12,254 | 36.9% |
| 8 | Rotherham | 7.4% | £11,193 | 43.6% |
| 9 | London | 7.4% | £75,154 | 23.0% |
| 10 | Barnsley | 7.4% | £10,331 | 42.3% |
‘Buyers may be disheartened by the decrease in the typical discounts on offer but can take cheer from the fact that almost a third are listed today below their original asking price,’ said Lawrence Hall, head of communications at Zoopla. Hall feels that, ‘despite ever-increasing house prices, there is still room for some good, old-fashioned negotiating.[1]
However, he also notes that, ‘one the flip side, vendors can be pretty confident of achieving close to their initial asking price. Zoopla has a unique feature on its website that allows potential buyers to track their original asking prices and subsequent reductions.’[1]
[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/discounts-on-property-at-five-year-low.html
