Rightmove: UK Sellers Cut Asking Prices on 3,000 Homes Daily

Home sellers across Britain cut asking prices on more than 3,000 properties a day on average in September, the highest monthly total in 15 years, according to figures from property website Rightmove shared with the BBC.

Rightmove, based in London, United Kingdom, said the surge in price reductions was driven in part by a glut of homes on the market and sellers setting unrealistic initial asking prices. The proportion of listed homes that eventually had a price cut stood at 34% last month, just below the recent peak of 36% recorded in September 2023.

Why are so many sellers cutting prices?

Colleen Babcock of Rightmove said buyer perception shifts once a listing lingers without movement. "Once a home has been on the market for a while and then has a price reduction, some buyers start asking questions, even when there is nothing wrong with the property," she said. "In a market with so much choice, first impressions matter."

September is traditionally the month with the heaviest volume of asking-price cuts, as sellers try to close a sale before the end of the year, Rightmove said.

How much are sellers losing on average?

Rightmove's data put the average price reduction at nearly 7%, equivalent to roughly £21,000 off a typically valued home. The gap in speed to sale is stark: homes that had a price reduction took a typical 119 days to find a buyer, compared with 39 days for properties listed at a single, unchanged price.

One seller, Stewart, from Leicester, told the BBC he struggled to judge the right price for two properties — his own home and his late mother's — both of which carried an element of leasehold ownership that has become less attractive to buyers. "Part of the issue is trying to work out the right selling price. Properties were on the market high and low but were not selling," he said.

"Properties were on the market high and low but were not selling."

Stewart said he turned down an offer on his home a day after listing it, holding out for a better price that never materialized. He eventually sold 18 months later for £30,000 less than his original asking price.

What role are mortgage rates playing?

Rival portal Zoopla said buyers are now "in the driving seat," becoming more cautious and selective as they work to tight budgets with mortgage rates sitting at three-year highs. Zoopla's figures, cited by the BBC, showed the number of homes for sale rose 5% in September compared with a year earlier, even as the number of sales agreed fell 9% over the same period.

Richard Donnell, executive director of research at Zoopla, said properties needing a price reduction were half as likely to find a buyer within the standard three-month window compared with those priced correctly from the start.

How many relisted homes are coming back at lower prices?

Zoopla's data showed a quarter of newly listed homes in September had previously been listed for sale within the past year. Of those relistings, six in 10 returned to the market at a lower asking price than before, pointing to a cycle in which sellers overprice initially, wait, withdraw, and then relist lower.

Key figures at a glance

• 3,000+ properties a day had asking-price cuts in September — the highest monthly figure in 15 years, per Rightmove.
• 34% of listed homes had a price reduction last month, close to the 36% peak seen in September 2023.
• ~7% / ~£21,000 — the average asking-price cut and its typical cash value, Rightmove said.
• 119 days vs. 39 days — average time to find a buyer for reduced-price homes versus correctly priced ones.
• 5% up / 9% down — the rise in homes for sale versus the fall in sales agreed, year-on-year, per Zoopla.
• 25% / 60% — share of September's newly listed homes that had been on the market in the past year, and the share of those relisted at a lower price, per Zoopla.

Is this pattern likely to continue?

Neither Rightmove nor Zoopla's data, as reported, forecasts how long the elevated rate of price cuts will persist. Both portals pointed to higher mortgage rates and an increased supply of homes for sale as the structural drivers behind buyers' caution, while Rightmove emphasized that seller expectations — not just affordability — have contributed to the scale of reductions. The BBC noted the proportion of homes receiving a cut has remained relatively high since peaking in 2023, suggesting the current conditions are not a single-month anomaly but part of a longer stretch of a buyer-favorable market.