House sellers slashing property prices, with average discount of £25,000

Nearly a third of homes for sale across Britain have had their original asking price reduced, with the average markdown standing at nearly £25,000, according to a property website.

Zoopla said 32% of properties on the market have had the price snipped, showing a slight decrease from December 2017 when 35.33% of homes for sale had money shaved off.

The average reduction in asking prices stands at £24,947, Zoopla found.

The analysis, based on Zoopla's website, found the Isle of Man has the largest discounts - at 8.36% or (£41,212) on average.

Bradford has the next biggest reductions, with an average discount of 8.01% or £11,768, with Doncaster in third place with average discounts of 7.19% or £12,894.

Meanwhile, Twickenham in London has the largest share of reduced price properties, with over two-fifths (41.82%) of homes on the market having had the asking price slashed.

At the other end of the spectrum, house sellers in Enfield, Horsham and Aylesbury are particularly unlikely to shave much off their original asking prices, the research suggests.

And sellers in Glasgow, Manchester and Coventry are the least likely to be offering any discounts at all.

In London, 35.67% of property listings have been reduced in price - down from 39.45% in December.

The average price reduction in London is 6.66% or £53,623, with sellers in Kensington and Chelsea offering the biggest discounts off the original asking price in the capital at 7.86% or £113,491 on average.

Lawrence Hall, a spokesman for Zoopla, said of the latest findings: "This should be welcome news for prospective first-time buyers looking to get a foot on the property ladder.

"Those seeking bargains could consider areas such as Bradford, Doncaster and Blackburn in particular, or Twickenham if you're looking to live closer to the capital."

Here are the top 10 areas with the biggest asking price reductions in percentage terms according to Zoopla, with the average reduction in cash terms, the percentage of reduced properties on the market and the average price reduction in percentage terms:

1. Isle of Man, £41,212, 29.91%, 8.36%
2. Bradford, £11,768, 32.14%, 8.01%
3. Doncaster, £12,894, 30.15%, 7.19%
4. Blackburn, £10,059, 36.65%, 7.06%
5. Hull, £9,932, 28.10%, 6.95%
6. Mitcham, £41,797, 41.57%, 6.77%
7. Liverpool, £12,112, 26.41%, 6.76%
8. Newcastle-upon-Tyne, £12,166, 35.01%, 6.68%
9. London, £62,581, 34.61%, 6.66%
10. Swansea, £15,607, 31.85%, 6.59%

And here are the top 10 areas with the highest proportions of asking price reductions according to Zoopla, with the average price reduction in percentage and cash terms and the percentage of homes on the market which have had the original asking price reduced:

1. Twickenham, 6.16%, £41,832, 41.82%
2. Mitcham, 6.77%, £41,797, 41.57%
3. South Croydon, 5.91%, £23,965, 37.12%
>4. Croydon, 5.88%, £23,503, 37.09%
5. Reading, 5.47%, £22,912, 37.03%
6. Blackburn, 7.06%, £10,059, 36.65%
7. Harrow, 5.58%, £29,722, 35.65%
8. Chorley, 5.57%, £11,597, 35.63%
9. Norwich, 6.26%, £17,255, 35.38%
10. Swindon, 5.08%, £15,154, 35.33%

Here are the top 10 areas with the smallest asking price reductions in percentage terms according to Zoopla, with the average reduction in cash terms, the percentage of reduced properties on the market and the average price reduction in percentage terms:

1. Enfield, £23,064, 35.31%, 4.65%
2. Horsham, £20,045, 32.56%, 4.92%
3. Aylesbury, £19,335, 30.91%, 4.98%
4. Milton Keynes, £17,392, 34.46%, 4.99%
5. Northampton, £14,694, 32.69%, 5.05%
6. Swindon, £15,154, 35.33%, 5.08%
7. Bedford, £16,584, 32.51%, 5.18%
8. Bournemouth, £23,760, 29.87%, 5.20%
9. Bristol, £14,420, 30.11%, 5.29%
10. Colchester, £17,691, 34.28%, 5.35%

And here are the top 10 areas with the smallest proportions of asking price reductions according to Zoopla, with the average price reduction in percentage and cash terms and the percentage of homes on the market which have had the original asking price reduced:

1. Glasgow, 6.15%, £9,866, 17.27%
2. Manchester, 6.09%, £14,513, 22.82%
3. Coventry, 5.82%, £17,415, 25.93%
4. Liverpool, 6.76%, £12,112, 26.41%
5. Stoke-on-Trent, 5.95%, £12,159, 26.54%
6. Birmingham, 5.86%, £14,063, 27.11%
7. Hull, 6.95%, £9,932, 28.10%
8. Leicester, 5.96%, £16,565, 28.12%
9. Poole, 5.87%, £31,115, 28.21%
10. Sheffield, 6.44%, £13,244, 28.68%