Over 35% of properties for sale in the UK have had their asking prices reduced with the average mark down standing at £25,562, according to new research.
Overall some 35.33% of homes have been discounted since first being listed with an average reduction of 8.65% or £25,562, an increase of 0.57% since July, the data from property portal Zoopla shows.
The most heavily discounted properties are in Stockton-on-Tees with a reduction of 8.37% or £13,350, followed by Darlington at 7.88% or £12,285 and Bishop Auckland at 7.86% or £10,573.
At the other end of the scale, Hayes had the smallest price decreases of 4.63% or £18,639, followed by Weston-super-Mare with 4.65% or £10,622 and Fareham at 4.71% or £17,023.
Zoopla analysed property listings live on the website to establish the average reduction in asking price and also looked at the proportion of discounted homes in an area, revealing that Camberley has the largest share with 53.52% of properties marked down from the original asking price.
Nearby Kingston-upon-Thames and Richmond have the second and third highest proportion of discounted properties, at 51.31% and 50.52% respectively.
However, towns in Scotland and Northern England have proved more resilient to discounts. Just 15.73% of homes in Edinburgh have been reduced in price, while Salford at 18.64%, Glasgow at 21.62% and Manchester at 24.66 %.
In London some 39.45% of property listings have seen a price reduction, up from 36.67% in July with the average reaching 7.39% or £53.251. Kensington and Chelsea has the most discounted homes in value terms at 7.9% or £129,559, up from 7.77% four months ago.
Barking and Dagenham has the smallest reduction in London at of 5.11% or £19,413 while the greatest proportion of reduced price properties are in Merton at 46.18% while Newham has the smallest share at 32.83%.
Lawrence Hall, spokesperson for Zoopla, believes it is good news for first time buyers that there has been an increase in the number of reduced properties currently on the market and a small rise in the average discount.
‘A slight rise in levels of discounting is to be expected at this time of year when house hunters are likely to be delaying their property search until activity picks up in January,’ he pointed out.
