Home sellers slashing asking prices amid Budget speculation
The latest research from Property DriveBuy reveals that homesellers are slashing asking prices across the country in an attempt to attract buyers in a stagnant pre-Budget housing market.
The latest asking price data* shows that the average asking price in Britain (£364,833) fell by -1.8% between October and November 2025, contributing to an overall annual decline of -0.5%.
Sellers in London and the South West have seen the biggest annual drops in asking prices, falling by -2.1% and -1.1% respectively, while the biggest monthly drops have been recorded in Scotland (-3.2%) and the South East (-2.7%).
Further analysis by Property DriveBuy has highlighted just how much this downward pressure on asking prices is impacting the live housing market across major British cities.
The snapshot data shows that across Britain, the number of homes listed for sale over a 30 day period that have seen an asking price reduction since being on the market has increased by 14.8% in the past month (Oct 25 – Nov 25)*.
However, some cities have seen even sharper increases.
Sheffield has seen the largest rise in price-reduced homes, with the number growing by 50% in the past month.
Brighton has seen its own number increase by 44%, while Cardiff (35.7%), Leicester (28.6%), Manchester (21.8%), Newcastle (21.1%), and Liverpool (20.6%) have all seen the number of price-reduced homes grow by more than 20%.
Steve Foreman, Founder and CEO of Property DriveBuy, commented
“Britain’s housing market is clearly feeling the strain of uncertainty in the run up to the Autumn Budget. With momentum slowing and buyer confidence dipping, we’re seeing more sellers make the difficult decision to reduce their asking price in order to secure interest.
The sharp rise in price-reduced listings across major cities shows just how sensitive the market has become to speculation around potential tax changes, particularly at the higher end. Until there is clarity, both buyers and sellers are treading carefully, and this caution is now filtering through into the day-to-day pricing of homes coming to market.
These conditions do not point to a market in distress, but they do underline how quickly sentiment can shift when major fiscal decisions are on the horizon.”
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