UK asking price cuts hit 15-year high as homes take longer to sell
Rightmove says September asking price reductions reached a 15-year high, while Zoopla reports more homes for sale and fewer agreed sales.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
UK home sellers are cutting asking prices at the fastest rate in 15 years, according to Rightmove, as more properties come to market and agreed sales fall.
The figures point to a market where sellers are adjusting expectations:
- Rightmove: The average daily total of asking price reductions in September was the highest of any month in 15 years. The average cut was 7%, or nearly £21,000 off a typically valued home. A third of listed properties had reductions.
- Zoopla: The number of homes for sale in September was up 5% compared with a year earlier. Agreed sales were down 9%.
Rightmove said the reductions reflected a glut of properties on the market and some unrealistic expectations before a reality check. Homes that needed an asking price cut took a lot longer to sell than those that did not.
The report said buyers can question why a property has been reduced. It advised sellers to listen closely to local estate agents, who know local prices and what would make a listing stand out.
The system differs in Scotland, where homes are independently valued before they go on the market. Elsewhere, the speed of a sale may depend on taking time to set the asking price.
On screen
Stills are sampled automatically at 60-second intervals. Where shown, the still is the nearest available frame from the relevant broadcast segment and is included to show what was on screen during that part of the broadcast. A still may not correspond to the exact second of a quoted phrase.
Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |
|---|---|
| Only on one channel | |
| Rightmove reported that September had the highest average daily number of asking price reductions in 15 years and that a third of listed properties had price cuts. | |
| Zoopla reported a 5% annual rise in homes for sale in September while agreed sales fell 9%. | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
The channel led with a data-led consumer explainer on slowing sales, focusing on Rightmove and Zoopla figures, the size of typical price cuts and the practical effect on selling time. It gave sellers advice on pricing and noted the different Scottish valuation system. The tone was measured and explanatory, with no political framing.
- “Rightmove says September's average daily total of property asking price reductions was the highest of any month for 15 years.”
- “This data shows the average price reduction was 7%, the equivalent of nearly £21,000 cut from a typically valued home.”
- “When a buyer sees that a property has had its asking price cut, they can really question and start to think, what's wrong with this property?”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.