Average discount on property asking prices is now £24,989

  • 31.6 per cent of properties currently on the market have been discounted

  • Darlington, County Durham, has the largest share of reduced price properties (45.65 per cent)

  • Discounted properties in London have been marked down by an average of 7.52 per cent

  • London borough of Merton has the greatest proportion of reduced price listings in the capital (39.09 per cent)

The average reduction in property asking prices stands at £24,989, according to the latest figures from property website Zoopla. Currently, just under a third (31.6 per cent) of properties on the market have been marked down in price (down from 33.43 per cent in December last year), with an average reduction of 8.27 per cent (£24,989) – up 0.66 per cent since the end of 2016.

Darlington tops the list for the highest proportion of reduced-price properties with almost half (45.65 per cent) of homes in County Durham town marked down. This is followed by neighbouring South Shields and North Yorkshire’s Middlesbrough, with 43.9 and 42.52 per cent respectively. Seven out of the top 10 towns with the largest share of reduced price properties are in the North of England, with the exceptions of Eastbourne (East Sussex), Blackwood (South Wales) and Woking (Surrey), which currently also feature in sixth, ninth and tenth place.

The North of England is also home to the biggest discounts, with all the top 10 towns with the largest asking price reductions located in the region. The market town of Stockton-on-Tees has the highest asking price reductions, with discounted properties marked down by 8.04 per cent (£11,532). Hartlepool and South Shields follow in second and third place, with reductions of 7.8 and 7.71 per cent (£13,654 and £9,323).

In London, 32.34 per cent of properties for sale have had their asking price reduced – down slightly from 33.29 per cent last December, with an average discount of 7.52 per cent (£57,323), which marks a slight decline from 7.61 per cent at the end of last year. The borough of Merton has the greatest proportion of reduced price listings (39.09 per cent) and the biggest price decreases can be found in the London boroughs of Kensington and Chelsea (7.65 per cent or £135,702) and Westminster (7.2 per cent or £124,144).

At the other end of the table, asking prices in Enfield, Swindon and Milton Keynes have been reduced the least, with discounts of 4.31 per cent (£28,271), 4.38 per cent (£12,101) and 4.39 per cent (£16,303) respectively. The most resilient London borough with the lowest proportion of reduced price properties is Newham, with only 23.19 per cent of listings for sale at a discounted rate. This is closely followed by Tower Hamlets (26.23 per cent) and the City of London (26.42 per cent).

Lawrence Hall, spokesperson for Zoopla comments: “Whilst the number of properties on the market with a price reduction has remained flat since December, those that have been discounted have seen a bigger reduction since the end of last year. This is still good news for those looking to get onto the property ladder. With some thorough research first time buyers could be in with a better chance of spotting a bargain by filtering their property searches by ‘Most Reduced’ and set up email alerts to help them be the first to know about homes that have been discounted.”

Top 10 Areas with Highest Proportion of Asking Price Reductions

Rank

Town

Reduced properties on the market (%)

Average price reduction (%)

Average price reduction (£)

1

Darlington

45.65%

6.9%

£10,599

2

South Shields

43.9%

7.71%

£9,323

3

Middlesbrough

42.52%

7.38%

£9,800

4

Keighley

40.35%

6.33%

£11,447

5

Eastbourne

40.33%

5.75%

£15,848

6

Stockton-on-Tees

39.47%

8.04%

£11,532

7

Barnsley

39.45%

6.62%

£10,885

8

Blackwood

39.07%

6.76%

£12,704

9

Woking

38.99%

5.79%

£37,750

10

Great Yarmouth

38.77%

6.3%

£13,435

Top 10 Areas with Largest Asking Price Reductions

Rank

Town

Average price reduction (%)

Average price reduction (£)

Reduced properties on the market (%)

1

Stockton-on-Tees

8.04%

£11,532

39.47%

2

Hartlepool

7.8%

£13,654

31.87%

3

South Shields

7.71%

£9,323

43.9%

4

Bishop Auckland

7.58%

£13,824

34.78%

5

Middlesbrough

7.38%

£9,800

42.52%

6

Bradford

7.27%

£11,176

34.68%

7

Halifax

7.25%

£12,365

35.08%

8

Blackburn

7.17%

£9,979

30.41%

9

Hull

7.17%

£9,564

28.89%

10

Pontefract

7.1%

£14,034

35.76%

Top 10 London Boroughs with Highest Proportion of Asking Price Reductions

Rank

Borough

Reduced properties on the market (%)

Average price reduction (%)

Average price reduction (£)

1

Merton

39.09%

6.05%

£45,332

2

Richmond upon Thames

36.6%

6.24%

£55,727

3

Hillingdon

35.79%

5.04%

£33,188

4

Hounslow

35.6%

6.37%

£56,667

5

Haringey

35.39%

5.73%

£43,157

6

Kingston upon Thames

35.31%

5.7%

£51,891

7

Bromley

35.31%

5.52%

£36,349

8

Harrow

35.28%

5.16%

£30,717

9

Ealing

35.22%

5.84%

£45,521

10

Hammersmith and Fulham

35%

6.86%

£71,795

Top 10 London Boroughs with Largest Asking Price Reductions

Rank

Borough

Average price reduction (%)

Average price reduction (£)

Reduced properties on the market (%)

1

Kensington and Chelsea

7.65%

£135,702

34.17%

2

Westminster

7.2%

£124,144

32.01%

3

Hammersmith and Fulham

6.86%

£71,795

35%

4

Lambeth

6.58%

£58,627

29.76%

5

Wandsworth

6.41%

£75,762

32.81%

6

Camden

6.41%

£81,113

30.97%

7

Southwark

6.39%

£53,588

29.49%

8

Hounslow

6.37%

£56,667

35.6%

9

City of London

6.29%

£58,932

26.42%

10

Richmond upon Thames

6.24%

£55,727

36.6%

Source: Zoopla, 30th March 2017

- Ends -

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