Price reductions have reached their highest level in at least nine years according to the July housing market metrics from Hamptons. The data is compiled from some 550 agency branches which form Connells Group and includes transactions not listed on property portals.

50% of homes in England & Wales sold following a +£1 price reduction in July, up from 47% in June.

Hamptons says it seems as though higher mortgage rates were the catalyst for reducing seller expectations of their home’s value, many of whom had previously been holding firm. It took 73 days for the average seller to reduce their home last month, 17 days longer than in June.

Most of the increasing volume of  price reductions has come from more affordable homes where sales are more likely to be needs-based and where higher mortgage rates are hitting hardest. Whereas £million+ sellers were less likely to reduce their price, with cash playing a bigger role at this end of the market.

54% of homes sold below their asking price across England & Wales in July, the highest share since December 2022. On average, these buyers achieved a 4.5% discount, unchanged from last month.

Larger homes, that have seen the strongest price growth over the last few years have been more likely to sell below their asking price than last year.

That said, the average seller in England & Wales achieved 98.6% of their asking price in July. This is above the figure recorded pre-Covid in July 2019 of 98.0%.

It took the average seller in Great Britain 49 days on average to accept an offer on their home last month, making it the slowest July to sell a home since 2013.

Time-to-sell has increased the most for +£1m homes, which again suggests that sellers are happy to hold out until they receive an acceptable offer.