A third of properties for sale see price reduction

A third of all properties for sale have seen their prices reduced amid an uncertain outlook for the housing market, a new survey suggests.

The properties have seen their values cut at least once since they were first listed on the market, according to the survey by property website Zoopla.

The highest average price reductions were in Rotherham, Manchester and Barnsley, where average asking prices were discounted by 7.1 per cent.

It is the equivalent of a £9,500 drop in asking prices in Rotherham, a £11,400 drop in Manchester and a £9,000 drop in Barnsley.

Percentage price reductions have been smaller in the south of England, with average asking prices in Chelmsford and Brighton both having been reduced by 5.1 per cent, or £18,800 and £19,900 respectively.

Nicholas Leeming, commercial director of Zoopla.co.uk, said, “Sellers across the country are certainly feeling the heat this summer as the recovery has slowed and the market direction is uncertain.

“More and more sellers are cautiously reducing asking prices in a bid to attract buyers and lock in the house price gains of the past 16 months. But Britain is not one uniform housing market and smaller reductions are clearly evident in some locations in the south of England where the outlook for employment and economic growth is brighter.

“In a buyers’ market, astute house-hunters will be on the lookout for properties with the biggest reductions in the hope of picking up a bargain.”

By Myra Butterworth, Telegraph.co.uk