More than a third of homes undergo price reduction
The latest research from GetAgent.co.uk has revealed that more than a third (34.4%) of homes sold subject to contract (SSTC) across Britain’s major cities have undergone an asking price reduction, with this figure climbing to more than half in Bournemouth, raising questions over whether sellers, and their agents, are pricing their properties realistically when first entering the market.
GetAgent analysed an estimated 67,554 properties listed as sold subject to contract across 21 major British cities, identifying how many had undergone an asking price reduction before reaching this stage of the sales process.
The research found that 23,248 of these properties had seen their asking price reduced, accounting for 34.4% of the total.
Where are asking price reductions most common?
Bournemouth tops the table, with 51.5% of properties currently sold subject to contract having undergone an asking price reduction, making it the only city analysed where more than half of agreed sales had previously been marketed at a higher price.
Portsmouth ranks second at 45.7%, followed by Brighton (43.4%), London (41.4%) and Nottingham (40.5%).
Southampton also ranks highly at 39.6%, while more than a third of properties sold subject to contract in Leicester (35.4%), Leeds (33.5%) and Bristol (33.4%) had previously seen their asking price reduced.
Where are asking price reductions least common?
At the other end of the table, Glasgow has the lowest proportion of SSTC properties that have undergone an asking price reduction, at just 7.2%.
Edinburgh follows at 11.8%, with Newcastle (20.9%), Liverpool (22.5%) and Sheffield (25.3%) also seeing comparatively low levels of asking price reductions among properties that have secured a buyer.
The considerable difference between cities highlights how much the journey towards an agreed sale can vary depending on local market conditions, with asking price reductions playing a far more prominent role in some markets than others.
Are sellers pricing too high to begin with?
While an asking price reduction can help generate renewed buyer interest and move a property towards an agreed sale, the findings also raise questions about whether some homes are entering the market with overly ambitious valuations.
Previous research from GetAgent found that 95% of estate agents had witnessed competing agents providing unrealistic property valuations, while 89% reported losing instructions to competitors offering higher valuations.
The findings highlight the pressure agents can face to secure instructions by offering sellers an attractive asking price, even where that figure may not reflect what buyers are ultimately prepared to pay.
Colby Short, Co-founder and CEO of GetAgent, commented:
“The fact that so many properties that have reached an agreed sale have already had their asking price reduced raises an important question about how realistically homes are being priced in the first place.
There’s always a temptation for sellers to pursue the highest possible asking price, and agents can find themselves under pressure to deliver that valuation in order to win the instruction. But starting too high can mean missing the strongest period of buyer interest, only to reduce the price further down the line.
This can put agents in a difficult position, particularly when the value of an accurate, evidence-led valuation is competing with the pull of the highest asking price. Good agents know that getting that strategy right from day one gives sellers the best opportunity to attract serious buyers and achieve a successful sale.”
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