A third of all homes up for sale have reduced in price since April, suggesting sellers are more willing to offer a discount, new research has revealed.
According to Zoopla, 32.64% of all listings were discounted in July, taking off £25,257 from the average property across the UK.
Sellers are most likely to cut prices in the North of England, with almost half of all properties listed in Huddersfield, Wigan and St Helens, Merseyside seeing price slashed.
The areas which have seen the biggest price cuts are Bishop Auckland, Durham, Poole, Blackpool and Halifax, all around 10%.
House prices in Worcester, Milton Keynes and Aylesbury have been reduced the least, with asking prices being marked down by around 5%.
London property prices have been reduced by an average of 7.8%. The borough of Kensington and Chelsea tops the list with the largest asking price reduction of 9.2%, the equivalent of £156,996. Westminster saw an average of £137,999 knocked off prices.
Lawrence Hall, spokesperson for Zoopla, said: “The total number of properties on the market with a reduction has risen since April, but discounts are way off their peak and not as high as one might have predicted given the EU referendum outcome.
“However, where there are bargains to be had, this could present a good opportunity for those first time buyers lucky enough to have saved the required deposit. Couple this with the recent interest rate cut decision which could result further in adjustments in mortgage rates, the second half of this year could a great opportunity for first time buyers to research the market and find a bargain.”
Top 10 areas with biggest reductions in asking prices
| Rank | Area | Average price reduction | Average price reduction (£) | % of homes on market reduced |
| 1 | Bishop Auckland | 10.09% | £14,423 | 40.28% |
| 2 | Haverfordwest | 9.38% | £23,292 | 37.88% |
| 3 | Durham | 9.13% | £14,977 | 37.42% |
| 4 | Blackpool | 8.85% | £13,562 | 38.01% |
| 5 | Poole | 8.66% | £58,668 | 28.27% |
| 6 | Oxford | 8.4% | £38,067 | 33.15% |
| 7 | Halifax | 8.31% | £15,554 | 40.76% |
| 8 | Great Yarmouth | 7.88% | £16,690 | 40.93% |
| 9 | Darlington | 7.86% | £12,547 | 39.22% |
| 10 | Bradford | 7.85% | £11,278 | 35.1% |
Top 10 London boroughs with largest asking price reductions
| Rank | Area | Average price reduction (%) | Average price reduction (£) | % of homes on market reduced |
| 1 | Kensington and Chelsea | 9.24% | £156,996 | 35.19% |
| 2 | Westminster | 8.4% | £137,999 | 32.2% |
| 3 | Hounslow | 8.27% | £61,427 | 32.65% |
| 4 | Barnet | 7.73% | £74,417 | 29.11% |
| 5 | Hammersmith and Fulham | 7.72% | £82,839 | 34.45% |
| 6 | Haringey | 7.68% | £63,013 | 27.06% |
| 7 | Wandsworth | 7.65% | £87,155 | 32.98% |
| 8 | City of London | 7.4% | £66,420 | 29.05% |
| 9 | Ealing | 7.37% | £51,906 | 32.92% |
| 10 | Croydon | 7.3% | £34,453 | 31.9% |
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