Many UK sellers are accepting lower offers to complete deals in a cooling market.
This summer we have seen UK house prices slashed, taking a significant turn in favour of buyers, according to the latest Summer Property Insights report from Barclays Bank. The research shows a clear yet surprising trend. Despite a red-hot start to the year driven by a looming stamp duty deadline, the property market is showing clear signs of a shift towards buyer dominance.
UK Property Prices Slashed As Sellers Accept Thousands Below Asking Price
The standout finding from Barclays’ latest data is that sellers across the UK are accepting an average of £6,632 less than their asking price. This marks a notable move away from the seller-friendly conditions of recent years. In fact, 65% of buyers said they offered below the asking price, with an average discount of nearly £3,900 per offer. Only a year ago we were seeing buyers having to bid up and up in order to secure a property sale. But this seems to be much less common in 2025 so far.
What Barclays Have Said About The Current Property Market
Jatin Patel, Head of Mortgages, Savings and Insurance at Barclays, commented:
“For those ready to buy, our data shows that we’re currently in a buyers’ market when it comes to negotiations, with most sellers willing to accept offers under asking in order to facilitate their next move.”
The research shows a growing willingness among sellers to negotiate, particularly those under pressure to complete their sale for various reasons. However, it’s not universal. 15% of sellers remain firm on their asking prices.
Stamp Duty Deadline Fuelled a Frenzied Start to 2025
While buyers are now in a stronger position to negotiate, the start of 2025 painted a different picture. The end of the temporary Stamp Duty Land Tax relief, introduced in September 2022, triggered a frantic rush to complete transactions before the March deadline. First-time buyers who missed the cut-off are now facing an average stamp duty bill of £6,512, after the threshold for zero tax fell from £425,000 to £300,000. As a result, mortgage completions surged by 50% in March alone, reaching their highest level since September 2021.
Renters Struggle to Save Deposits Amid Rising Costs
Despite falling house prices, getting onto the property ladder remains challenging, especially for renters. Barclays found that 44% of renters see the deposit as the biggest obstacle to homeownership while others pointed out strict lender affordability and rules around job criteria as other factors. On average, renters are saving £254.90 per month, with Gen Z hopefuls expecting to save enough for a deposit in 3.9 years, and Millennials saving even more at around £313 per month, but anticipating a slightly longer 4.7-year journey to property ownership.
Buyers’ Market Offers Rare Opportunities
With average property discounts of over £6,600 and a clear shift in negotiating power, now could be an ideal time for savvy buyers to enter the market. Provided they can overcome the hurdle of rising taxes, strict lender affordability, and deposits! As Barclays’ report shows, the property market is quite disrupted at the moment while stamp duty increases have weighed on first-time buyers, falling sale prices and flexible sellers have opened up a window of opportunity for well-prepared house hunters.
If you or anyone you know have seen local uk house prices slashed and are looking to purchase a property now or in the future, please give our team a call at Oportfolio Mortgages and we will be able to tell you exactly how much you can borrow, and what deposit you will need.
