THE number of properties on the market that have had their asking price reduced at least once has fallen to its lowest level in over two and half years as confidence returns to the housing market, according to the latest research from property website Zoopla.co.uk.
The proportion of properties currently on the market with a reduced asking price now stands at 31.5 per cent – down from 36.7 per cent a year ago – suggesting fewer sellers are feeling pressured to slash their asking price in order to achieve a sale.
Of those homes that have had their price reduced, the average discount to the original asking price across the country is currently 6.9 per cent (£21,000).
Nottingham is currently 7.79 per cent, but it's Romford that has seen the biggest price reductions in the UK (10.3 per cent). Blackpool (9.9 per cent) and Swansea (9.8 per cent) complete the top three.
However, all of the top ten areas with the highest proportion of price-reduced properties are in the North.
Wigan tops the list, with 42.6 per cent of all properties currently on the market having seen at least one price reduction to their asking price. Barnsley (41.2 per cent) and Rotherham (40.9 per cent) come in not far behind and round out the top three.
At the other end of the spectrum, perhaps unsurprisingly, London has one of the lowest percentages of discounted properties at 26.7 per cent, second only to Swansea where the proportion of discounted properties is low but the level of discounts for those properties that are reduced are amongst the highest in the country.
The Milton Keynes property market would appear to be holding up very well based on the research having both one of the lowest proportions of reduced price properties in the country (28.2 per cent) and also one of the lowest average discounts 94.9 per cent) for those that have been reduced. Nottingham sits at 34.97 per cent.
The number of price-reduced properties has fallen to its lowest since early 2010 indicating growing confidence in the market.
But there is still a big regional divide with sellers in the North having to discount more often and by a greater amount as a result of lower demand and fewer would-be buyers able to secure financing than in other parts of the country.
