The average house price has plummeted by more than £10,000 over the summer, sinking by almost £5,000 month-on-month in August.
Property website Rightmove has claimed that the average price tag on a home has slipped by 1.3 per cent (£4,969) month-on-month to sit at £368,740.
However, it is not all doom and gloom for “savvy summer sellers”, according to property expert Colleen Babcock.
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A Rightmove expert has declared that 'reading the room' and a 'tempting price' is crucial for a sale
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The sellers that have “read the room” have brought even more competitive pricing to the table to “stand out and attract serious and active buyers”.
“Astute buyers are now benefiting from new seller asking prices which are on average an enticing £10,000 cheaper than three months ago,” she explained.
The drop over August abides by the average seen across the month for 10 years after more significant drops in June and July.
Rightmove has explained that this “two-speed market” is pushed by sellers pricing their property realistically while certain sellers are over-ambitious.
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“Buyers have the upper hand in this high-supply market, so a tempting price is vital to agree a sale,” Ms Babcock explained.
And such a strategy seems to work, as the number of settled sales across July have been the best ever since 2020 when stamp duty reductions were put in action when the market reopened after the first lockdown.
“However, the high number of price reductions we’re seeing is an indicator that some sellers are still coming to market with too high a price and then reducing it to become competitive,” the expert explained.
Around a third (34 per cent) of houses for sale have slumped in price. Since 2012, this statistic has only been higher in August once in 2023.
The standard wait time to locate a buyer is 62 days
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Now, the standard wait time to locate a buyer is 62 days. If a property does not require a price reduction, the figure is significantly slashed by 30 days.
If the house requires a price reduction, it takes an average of 99 days to sell, according to Rightmove.
Looking towards the future, Ms Babcock added: “Strong summer property sales as well as a stable level of new buyer demand bode well for the next couple of months. We usually see a busier autumn compared to the summer as the new school year starts and more focus returns to moving home.
“Autumn sellers may also be hoping to be in a new home by Christmas, but they would need to beat the average time to find a buyer and complete a home sale.”