Property asking price discounts falling in UK house market

•             Proportion of discounted properties for sale falls from 37% to 32% over past 12 months

•             Average asking price discount falls to 6.3%, down from 7.6% twelve months ago

•             North lags South with biggest discounts in Barnsley, Rotherham and Wakefield

•             London, Edinburgh and Wolverhampton have lowest level of property discounts

•             Poole has highest average discounts on offer to original asking prices

In another strong sign that the UK property market has entered recovery mode, research released today by property website Zoopla reveals that the number of properties available for sale that have been discounted and the amount of the discount offered from the original asking price have both fallen sharply over the past twelve months.

The proportion of properties on the market in the UK today with an asking price that has been reduced at least once has fallen from 37% one year ago to 32% today. And the average discount to the original asking price has come down from 7.6% last August to only 6.3% now. The North-South property divide remains clearly evident in the Zoopla research, showing all of the top ten areas with the highest proportion of discounted properties being in the North and nine of the top ten areas with the biggest discounts on offer also being in the North. 42.7% of properties currently for sale in Barnsley have had their asking price reduced at least once since being put on the market, with Rotherham (42.3%) and Wakefield (42.1%) not far behind. 

Lawrence Hall of Zoopla.co.uk comments: “A fall in the proportion and level of asking price discounts suggests sellers are feeling more confident and happy to wait it out to achieve their target asking price. First-time buyers are finally getting a look-in due to improved mortgage availability which in turn is lifting the whole market. Banks, sellers and buyers are all more bullish about the state of the economy, which bodes well for the months ahead. And the Bank of England’s forward guidance on interest rates has generated a greater sense of certainty about the future, which should lead to even more activity.”

Top 5 Areas with Highest Proportion of Asking Price Reductions

Rank	Area	% of Homes on Market Reduced	Avg. Price Reduction (%)	Avg. Price Reduction (£)
1	Barnsley	42.7%	8.1%	£11,663
2	Rotherham	42.3%	7.4%	£10,941
3	Wakefield	42.1%	7.2%	£14,029
4	Wigan	40.8%	7.5%	£11,969
5	Sunderland	40.2%	8.0%	£12,157

Source: Zoopla.co.uk (August 2013)

Top 5 Areas with Biggest Asking Price Reductions

Rank	Area	Avg. Price Reduction (%)	Avg. Price Reduction (£)	% of Homes on Market Reduced
1	Poole	9.9%	£51,835	29.3%
2	Liverpool	8.2%	£13,664	37.8%
3	Doncaster	8.2%	£14,186	39.1%
4	Barnsley	8.1%	£11,663	42.7%
5	Bolton	8.1%	£14,945	34.1%

Source: Zoopla.co.uk (August 2013)

Top 5 Areas with Lowest Proportion of Asking Price Reductions

Rank	Area	% of Homes on Market Reduced	Avg. Price Reduction (%)	Avg. Price Reduction (£)
1	London	22.8%	7.3%	£66,575
2	Edinburgh	27.7%	5.3%	£14,722
3	Wolverhampton	29.1%	5.4%	£12,064
4	Bournemouth	29.1%	7.5%	£27,754
5	Poole	29.3%	9.9%	£51,835

Source: Zoopla.co.uk (August 2013)

Top 5 Areas with Smallest Asking Price Reductions

Rank	Area	Avg. Price Reduction (%)	Avg. Price Reduction (£)	% of Homes on Market Reduced
1	Edinburgh	5.3%	£14,722	27.7%
2	Swindon	5.3%	£10,665	32.9%
3	Ipswich	5.4%	£13,677	37.7%
4	Wolverhampton	5.4%	£12,064	29.0%
5	Milton Keynes	5.5%	£14,935	30.0%

Source: Zoopla.co.uk (August 2013)