New research has revealed that the market price of nearly two out of every five properties for sale in the UK has gone down by over £26,000.
According to property website Zoopla, sellers have lowered the price of 37.9% of properties, up from 32.4% reported in April. It is being seen as proof that the British housing market is slowing down.
This property market outlook suggests that there are differences across regions, with London slowing down whole Manchester and Glasgow perform well.
In London, 39.5% of listed property prices have gone down, compared to 34.6% in April. In Mitcham, asking prices have been reduced by 45%, which is the highest of any borough in the capital. Kensington and Chelsea, where some of the most expensive homes are located, registered an average reduction of £127,394.
The highest proportion of reduced list prices was registered in Brighton at 46% while Glasgow and Manchester had a more positive property market outlook with decreases of 19% and 26% respectively.
The research found that Bradford, London, and Newcastle upon Tyne had the highest percentages taken off the original sale price. Across the country, the average discount is £26,131.
Zoopla representative Lawrence Hall said that the research results should be welcome news for aspiring homeowners trying to get a foot on the property ladder. He said with the property market outlook being so uncertain at the moment, it would be interesting to see whether these reduced prices go up in the coming months.
The research is further confirmation that there is a decline in the UK housing market, especially in London and the more expensive areas of southeast England.
According to the recent figures from Your Move, property price growth in England and Wales reached a six and a half-year low in September, with prices falling throughout the southeast.
The average property price went up 0.9% to £302,626, which is lower from a yearly increase of 4.5% recorded in September 2016.
The total number of transactions fell 16% per month, with approximately 72,500 sales completed in September.
The country is still coping with a housing shortage as construction lags behind the growing population in the UK, but demand has been restrained because many first-time buyers are stretched while 2016 tax changes have made buy-to-let investing less profitable.
Source: CRL