The towns and cities where sellers have cut their asking price – we reveal where to get a property bargain
In Stockton on Tees almost half the properties on the market have had their prices slashed in order to secure a sale
DESPITE soaring house prices in many parts of the UK, there are still property bargains to be found in some parts of the country.
According to new research, almost a third of properties currently for sale in major towns and cities in the UK have had their original prices slashed in order to secure a sale.
Analysis of current listings on property website Zoopla for 100 major towns and cities across the UK, found that 31.3 per cent of homes on the market have been cut in price since they were first listed.
In eight of these 100 towns, more than 40 per cent of properties currently for sale have had their initial asking price cut.
The place with the largest percentage of homes reduced in price is Stockton-on-Tees in County Durham, where 49 per cent of properties have been dropped in price to secure a sale, while in Aberdeen almost 46 per cent have had a price reduction.
One house in Stockton on Tees had its price cut from £90,000 to £70,000 (22 per cent reduction) in order to secure a sale, while a house in Aberdeen lowered its listing price from £1,050,000 to £895,000 - a 15 per cent cut.
The analysis, by online estate agents HouseSimple.com, reveals a clear North South divide, with 17 out of the top 20 locations for price reductions in the North of England or Scotland.
Only one city in the south of England features in the top 20 list - Oxford, with 36.8 per cent of properties in the city having been cut in price since they were first listed.
Surprisingly, of the three largest cities in the UK, London has the highest percentage (30 per cent) of properties currently on the market that have had a price reduction since they were initially listed.
This compares with 27.6 per cent in Birmingham and only 19.9 per cent in Manchester, suggesting that estate agents in the capital are finding it harder to secure a sale and are having to drop asking prices to attract buyers.
Alex Gosling, CEO of , said: “We saw a large disparity in our research across major UK towns and cities when it came to the percentage of properties reduced in price since they were first marketed.
“Price reductions can indicate that there are too many sellers and not enough buyers, but actually there has been a lack of stock coming onto the market and plenty of buyers looking.
"That would suggest that sellers are in the driving seat and wouldn’t need to drop their asking price to secure an offer."
Gosling added: "But with all the economic uncertainty, particularly around Brexit, buyers are being more cautious about purchasing, spending more time viewing multiple properties before making a decision.
“If sellers are committed to selling, then cutting the price is likely to attract more buyers, and particularly those buyers who have expressed an interest but are sitting on the fence."
It was reported last week that a young couple from Stoke-on-Trent snapped up Britain's cheapest home, which was on the market for the princely sum of £1.
The two-bedroom council house in the Staffordshire city was completely dilapidated, but after spending four months doing it up, the young couple’s bargain buy is believed to be worth around £60,000.
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