In a buyer's market, sellers are becoming more realistic about prices, and buyers are increasingly confident in making lower offers. According to Zoopla, the average home in the UK now sells for about £16,000 below its listing price, with house price growth slowing to just 1.3% year on year.
Alan Murphy and his wife successfully offered £35,000 under the asking price for a semi-detached house in Brighton. The property, listed at £575,000, needed significant renovation. The seller accepted immediately, confirming the couple's suspicion that the property was overpriced. 'We freed up funds for the renovations it so clearly needed,' Murphy said.
Christian Hilber, a professor of economic geography at the London School of Economics, says many sellers are influenced by 'loss aversion' from past boom periods, but today's tighter economic conditions mean past optimism no longer dictates value. Mortgage adviser Aggi Christou notes that the cost of living crisis and rising mortgage rates have made buyers more discerning.
Estate agents also play a role in pricing. Robin Edwards of Curetons says some agents start with higher valuations to test the market, then adjust if interest is lacking. He advises buyers to back offers with facts, such as survey findings or visible work needed, and to communicate respectfully. 'Realism means understanding that value isn't what the market once was – it's what the numbers support right now,' he said.
Rowena Bower, a recent homebuyer in south-east London, secured a four-bedroom property for £535,000, £15,000 below the listing price. She emphasises that while emotions are secondary to hard metrics, the human factor remains important in negotiations.
