Homes selling below asking price: survey points to room for negotiation

What happened

Homes selling below asking price were reported by 86% of estate agents in Propertymark’s August 2026 Housing Insight survey, according to findings published on 14 October 2026. Another 9% reported sales achieving the asking price. The trade body’s figures point to greater scope for negotiation as buyers have more properties to choose from.

The distinction for anyone preparing an offer is that these percentages describe responses from agents, not a count of individual sales. They do not establish that 86% of all homes sold at a discount. The published findings also give no average discount in pounds or percentage terms, so they cannot provide a benchmark for how far below an advertised price to bid.

Propertymark said the average number of homes available for sale increased to 51 per member branch in August. New instructions were relatively steady at 10.8 properties per branch, while agents carried out an average of 30 market appraisals. These measure different stages of selling: an appraisal does not necessarily become an instruction, and a listed home has not necessarily found a buyer.

Buyer interest weakened on two measures in the survey. The average number of prospective buyers registering with a branch fell to 69, while viewings dropped to 1.7 per available property, Propertymark reported. Those figures describe activity through member agents; they are not a measure of how many people nationally want or can afford to buy.

Despite the reduction in registrations and viewings, agreed sales increased to an average of 9.5 per branch, according to Propertymark. That combination suggests negotiations were still producing agreements even with less viewing activity. An agreed sale is nevertheless an earlier milestone than exchange or completion, rather than evidence that ownership has changed hands.

The background

An asking price is the amount advertised by a seller, not an independent valuation or a guaranteed sale price. A transaction below that figure does not, by itself, show that the property has lost value since its previous sale. The starting price matters, which is why an asking-price gap and a house-price index answer different questions.

For buyers using a mortgage, the purchase price is only one part of affordability: the deposit, interest rate and repayment term also determine the commitment. A negotiated reduction does not automatically make monthly payments manageable. The relationship between prices and borrowing costs is explored in Property Pulse UK’s coverage of house prices and mortgage affordability.

Propertymark’s reported headline figures do not break down the scope for negotiation by town, property type or price band. They therefore cannot establish what discount is achievable on a particular home. Separate reporting on sale rates and asking-price gaps for £2m-plus homes examines the upper end of the market, rather than providing a benchmark for every seller.

The rental side of Propertymark’s survey showed a different balance between demand and supply. Prospective tenant registrations increased to an average of 121 per branch, against 12.86 available rental properties, equivalent to roughly ten registrations per home. New instructions for fully managed rental properties fell to an average of 2.97 per branch.

However, the lettings figures did not show every available home finding a tenant immediately. Propertymark said agreed tenancies rose slightly to 9.92 per branch, while average void periods extended to almost four weeks. Registrations, available properties and completed lets measure different things, so strong headline demand can coexist with gaps between tenancies.

Read moreRightmove asking prices: cheaper regions fall as mortgage costs bite

What people are saying

Nathan Emerson, chief executive of Propertymark, described a market in which activity continued but progress was inconsistent. He identified disagreement over acceptable prices as the central difficulty, rather than an absence of transactions. In his assessment, agents increasingly need to reconcile what sellers expect with what buyers can afford.

Phil Spencer, founder of Move iQ, said sellers should not assume competing buyers would generate offers without further effort. He highlighted presentation, timing and the initial asking price as important when purchasers examine value more closely. His view was that a realistic launch price puts a seller in a better position than a succession of later reductions.

Emerson also raised concerns about the time between agreeing a sale and exchanging contracts. Almost 32% of Propertymark members said most of their agreed sales took more than 17 weeks to reach exchange. He said extended waits increased uncertainty for the parties involved and made linked transactions more vulnerable to disruption.

On lettings, Emerson said demand continued to put pressure on available homes, while landlords were weighing their participation carefully. Propertymark’s members reported a mixed picture on rents: 59% said they were broadly unchanged, 33% reported increases and 6% reported falls. Arrears on fully managed rental properties fell to 2.7%, according to the survey.

The Office for National Statistics’ separate figures showed average UK rents rising by 3.8% annually and 0.5% month-on-month in August. Average monthly rents were £1,459 in England, £1,013 in Scotland and £846 in Wales. Those official averages should not be treated as interchangeable with agent survey responses or the figures discussed in reporting on advertised rents outside London.

What happens next

For buyers preparing an offer, the missing figure is the price comparable homes have actually achieved locally. Propertymark’s survey provides a reason to examine an asking price critically, but not a standard percentage to deduct. In England and Wales, HM Land Registry’s recorded sale prices can help distinguish completed transactions from current advertisements.

For sellers reviewing an agent’s valuation, an important question is what evidence supports the proposed price. Recent comparable sales, the condition of the home and competing listings provide context that a national branch average cannot supply. A market appraisal is an estimate of a potential selling price, not a commitment from a buyer or mortgage lender.

Once an offer is accepted, the survey’s delay figures make the route to exchange a separate consideration from the price agreement. In England and Wales, an accepted offer normally becomes binding only at exchange; Scotland follows a different legal process. A long period before exchange therefore leaves buyers and sellers with uncertainty even after negotiations appear settled.

Conveyancing checks remain necessary during that period, including enquiries about title and information supplied by the seller. Property Pulse UK’s coverage of HM Land Registry requisitions and conveyancing checks explains a separate administrative issue. Propertymark’s figures do not identify the causes of the reported delays, so they should not be attributed to one organisation or stage of the process.

For renters comparing properties, the reported national averages are not limits on what an individual landlord may advertise. The ONS figures describe average rents, while Propertymark’s survey records activity and responses among its members. Neither establishes the rent, availability or likely waiting time for a particular home in a particular neighbourhood.

Why this matters

Propertymark’s findings give buyers grounds to question an advertised price, but not a ready-made discount to apply to every home. Sellers face the separate challenges of securing an acceptable offer and getting the transaction through to exchange. For households selling and buying at the same time, both prices and the chain’s progress matter. Renters face a different balance: the survey still records substantially more prospective tenant registrations than available rental homes.