Home sellers cut asking prices on more than 3,000 properties a day on average in Britain during September, according to figures from Rightmove shared exclusively with the BBC.
The property website said the total was the highest of any month for 15 years and was driven, in part, by a glut of homes on the market and some sellers setting unrealistic expectations.
The proportion of listed homes that eventually had a price cut peaked in 2023 and has remained relatively high since.
One seller – Stewart, from Leicester – said some properties were being filtered out of buyers’ search results.
He sold one property, and was now selling his late mother’s, and both included an element of leasehold which more buyers have been avoiding. However, he said no one thing defined whether a property would sell at a certain price.
“Part of the issue is trying to work out the right selling price. Properties were on the market high and low but were not selling,” he said.
He turned down an offer made on his home a day after it was listed. It was below the asking price and he held out for better offers that never came. In the end, he sold after 18 months for £30,000 less than the original asking price.
Colleen Babcock, of Rightmove, said: “Once a home has been on the market for a while and then has a price reduction, some buyers start asking questions, even when there is nothing wrong with the property.
“In a market with so much choice, first impressions matter.”
Property portals say buyers are now having to be choosy, with many working to a tight budget as mortgage rates have risen to three-year highs.
