Almost a third of properties currently for sale in the UK have been discounted with the average amount being £24,989, new research shows.
Overall 31.6% of asking prices have been reduced but the number is falling as this is down from 33.43% last December, according to the research from property portal Zoopla.
Darlington in County Durham has the largest share of reduced price properties at 45.65%, followed by neighbouring South Shields at 43.9% and Middlesbrough at 42.52%.
Seven out of the top 10 towns with the largest share of reduced price properties are in the North of England, with the exceptions of Eastbourne, Blackwood in South Wales and Woking which are currently are placed in sixth, ninth and tenth position.
The North of England is also home to the biggest discounts, with all the top 10 towns with the largest asking price reductions located in the region. Stockton-on-Tees has the highest asking price reductions, with discounted properties marked down by 8.04% or £11,532. Hartlepool and South Shields follow in second and third place, with reductions of 7.8% or £13,654 and 7.71% or £9,323 respectively.
In London some 32.34% of properties for sale have had their asking price reduced, down slightly from 33.29% last December with an average discount of 7.52% or £57,323. Merton has the greatest proportion of reduced price listings at 39.09% and the biggest price decreases can be found in the London boroughs of Kensington and Chelsea at 7.65% or £135,702 and Westminster at 7.2% or £124,144.
Asking prices in Enfield, Swindon and Milton Keynes have been reduced the least, with discounts of 4.31% or £28,271, 4.38% or £12,101 and 4.39% or £16,303 respectively. The most resilient London borough with the lowest proportion of reduced price properties is Newham with only 23.19% of properties for sale at a discounted rate, closely followed by Tower Hamlets at 26.23% and the City of London at 26.42%.
‘Whilst the number of properties on the market with a price reduction has remained flat since December, those that have been discounted have seen a bigger reduction since the end of last year,’ said Lawrence Hall, spokesperson for Zoopla.
‘This is still good news for those looking to get onto the property ladder. With some thorough research first time buyers could be in with a better chance of spotting a bargain by filtering their property searches by most reduced and set up email alerts to help them be the first to know about homes that have been discounted,’ he added.
