House asking prices in the UK fell by 2% in August - the biggest monthly drop for this period since 2018. In the British capital, average asking prices fell by 4.4% in the month. The situation is particularly telling in the prestigious Kensington and Chelsea area, where sellers have reduced the average asking price from £1.648 million to £1.553 million - a drop of almost £100,000 in just one month.
The pressure on sellers is also increasing due to the record supply. The number of homes for sale in London has reached its highest level in 16 years, giving buyers a stronger bargaining position.
Buy-to-let investors are taking the biggest advantage of the situation. In July, they accounted for 14.1% of all home purchases in the UK. More than half of their offers were at least 10% below the original listed price - the highest share since the first lockdown in April 2020.
Sellers are increasingly accepting such offers. In July, 27% of offers with a discount of at least 10% were approved, and for leasehold properties this share reached 41%. This type of property remains among the most difficult to sell, as many buyers avoid the British property model, where you acquire the right to the home for a certain period of time, but not the land underneath.
The wider housing market in the UK remains relatively weak. High mortgage rates and affordability issues continue to limit demand, while growing supply is forcing more and more owners to make concessions from their initial asking prices.
Detailed statistics on average property prices in Bulgaria by city and neighborhood can be found at imot.bg