Low levels of activity in the sluggish housing market are forcing many homeowners to accept offers well below asking price, making now a potentially good time for buy-to-let landlords to consider adding to their property portfolio.
The latest figures from property portal Zoopla reveal that 32% of properties on the market at the moment have been marked down, as committed sellers start to understand the need to factor in economic uncertainty to their price expectations in order to attract cautious purchasers.
The data from the property website shows the average reduction in property asking prices is £24,947, or 8.42%, with homes in the Isle of Man recording the largest discounts, at £41,212 on average.
Close behind is the Yorkshire city of Bradford with an average discount of 8.01%, or £11,768, and Doncaster with 7.19%, £12,894.
At the other end of the spectrum, properties for sale in Enfield, Horsham and Aylesbury have been the most resistant with asking price reductions of 4.65%, or £23,064, 4.92%, or £20,045, and 4.98%, or £19,335, respectively.
When it comes to the highest and lowest proportions of discounted homes across the country, Twickenham in London leads the way – 41.82% of properties have been reduced in price.
Moving down the capital, Mitcham holds the second largest proportion of reduced properties at 41.57%, followed by South Croydon at 37.12%.
Conversely, Glasgow, Manchester and Coventry have proved to be the most immune to discounts, with proportions of only 17.27%, 22.82%, and 25.93% respectively.
Lawrence Hall, spokesperson for Zoopla, said: “At present, nearly a third of properties on the market have been reduced in asking price, with some average discounts eclipsing 8%.”
“Those seeking bargains could consider areas such as Bradford, Doncaster and Blackburn in particular, or Twickenham if you’re looking to live closer to the capital,” he added.
Top 10 areas with largest asking price reductions
|
Rank
|
Town
|
Average price reduction (£)
|
Reduced properties on the market (%)
|
Average price reduction (%)
|
|
1
|
Isle of Man
|
£41,212
|
29.91%
|
8.36%
|
|
2
|
Bradford
|
£11,768
|
32.14%
|
8.01%
|
|
3
|
Doncaster
|
£12,894
|
30.15%
|
7.19%
|
|
4
|
Blackburn
|
£10,059
|
36.65%
|
7.06%
|
|
5
|
Hull
|
£9,932
|
28.10%
|
6.95%
|
|
6
|
Mitcham
|
£41,797
|
41.57%
|
6.77%
|
|
7
|
Liverpool
|
£12,112
|
26.41%
|
6.76%
|
|
8
|
Newcastle upon Tyne
|
£12,166
|
35.01%
|
6.68%
|
|
9
|
London
|
£62,581
|
34.61%
|
6.66%
|
|
10
|
Swansea
|
£15,607
|
31.85%
|
6.59%
|
Source: Zoopla April 2018
Top 10 areas with highest proportion of asking price reductions
|
Rank
|
Town
|
Average price reduction (%)
|
Average price reduction (£)
|
Reduced properties on the market (%)
|
|
1
|
Twickenham
|
6.16%
|
£41,832
|
41.82%
|
|
2
|
Mitcham
|
6.77%
|
£41,797
|
41.57%
|
|
3
|
South Croydon
|
5.91%
|
£23,965
|
37.12%
|
|
4
|
Croydon
|
5.88%
|
£23,503
|
37.09%
|
|
5
|
Reading
|
5.47%
|
£22,912
|
37.03%
|
|
6
|
Blackburn
|
7.06%
|
£10,059
|
36.65%
|
|
7
|
Harrow
|
5.58%
|
£29,722
|
35.65%
|
|
8
|
Chorley
|
5.57%
|
£11,597
|
35.63%
|
|
9
|
Norwich
|
6.26%
|
£17,255
|
35.38%
|
|
10
|
Swindon
|
5.08%
|
£15,154
|
35.33%
|
Source: Zoopla April 2018
Top 10 London boroughs with largest asking price reductions
|
Rank
|
Borough
|
Average price reduction (£)
|
Reduced properties on the market (%)
|
Average price reduction (%)
|
|
1
|
Kensington & Chelsea
|
£113,491
|
36.83%
|
7.86%
|
|
2
|
Westminster
|
£117,430
|
34.64%
|
7.61%
|
|
3
|
Hammersmith & Fulham
|
£71,282
|
36.18%
|
7.41%
|
|
4
|
Camden
|
£76,145
|
35.10%
|
6.99%
|
|
5
|
Lambeth
|
£61,288
|
37.44%
|
6.85%
|
|
6
|
Ealing
|
£60,880
|
36.39%
|
6.80%
|
|
7
|
Wandsworth
|
£66,732
|
37.26%
|
6.72%
|
|
8
|
Richmond upon Thames
|
£52,202
|
39.49%
|
6.56%
|
|
9
|
Brent
|
£51,871
|
35.89%
|
6.53%
|
|
10
|
Merton
|
£41,842
|
40.30%
|
6.47%
|
Source: Zoopla April 2018
Top 10 London boroughs with highest proportion of asking price reductions
|
Rank
|
Borough
|
Average price reduction (%)
|
Average price reduction (£)
|
Reduced properties on the market (%)
|
|
1
|
Merton
|
6.47%
|
£41,842
|
40.30%
|
|
2
|
Richmond upon Thames
|
6.56%
|
£52,202
|
39.49%
|
|
3
|
Hillingdon
|
5.37%
|
£26,717
|
39.18%
|
|
4
|
Croydon
|
6.34%
|
£29,401
|
39.09%
|
|
5
|
Harrow
|
5.63%
|
£33,079
|
38.99%
|
|
6
|
Kingston upon Thames
|
6.11%
|
£47,251
|
38.36%
|
|
7
|
Hounslow
|
6.39%
|
£47,451
|
37.81%
|
|
8
|
Lambeth
|
6.85%
|
£61,288
|
37.44%
|
|
9
|
Wandsworth
|
6.72%
|
£66,732
|
37.26%
|
|
10
|
Sutton
|
5.86%
|
£27,161
|
37.13%
|
Source: Zoopla April 2018
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it's amusing to watch the estate agents out there desperately trying to talk the market up, in my area we have estate agents going bankrupt, don't have much sympathy, most of them are floating on cloud 9 living way beyond their means
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