Britain’s property portals may be offering buyers more choice this autumn, but a growing share of that choice is not necessarily fresh. The number of homes for sale is 5% higher than a year ago while agreed sales are 9% lower, according to Zoopla’s September House Price Index, creating a market where more properties are competing for fewer committed buyers.
The traditional autumn bounce has also failed to materialise in some areas, with estate agents reporting buyers holding back and sellers coming under increasing pressure to reduce asking prices. Annual house price growth slowed to 0.8% in September and prices fell 0.2% month on month, while mortgage approvals have also weakened. Moving Compared, the UK’s leading home moving hub helping buyers and sellers compare trusted professionals, says this is creating a form of property market “ghost inventory”: homes that remain technically available but are no longer attracting the momentum associated with a newly listed property.
1. A property can be “for sale” without being close to selling
More stock would normally be good news for buyers, but the length of time some homes remain available matters. Zoopla analysis published earlier this year found that 44% of UK homes listed during the previous three years failed to sell, with pricing identified as one of the biggest factors determining whether a property successfully found a buyer.
That means the headline number of available homes can overstate how much genuinely active stock buyers are choosing between. Some listings may already have spent months on the market, fallen through previously or reached the point where the seller’s original asking price no longer reflects what buyers are prepared to pay.
2. Getting the price wrong can add months to the process
Rightmove previously found that homes requiring an asking-price reduction spent an average of 127 days on the market, compared with just 36 days for properties that did not need to reduce, a difference of around three months. For sellers, holding out at an unrealistic price can therefore have consequences beyond simply waiting longer for an offer. A property that sits on the portals for months can lose the advantage of being a fresh listing, while subsequent reductions may leave prospective buyers asking why it has not sold and whether there is greater scope to negotiate.
3. For buyers, a stale listing can be an opportunity but it still needs scrutiny
A home that has been listed for several months is not automatically a bad purchase. Sellers may become more flexible on price as marketing periods lengthen, particularly where they need to move or have already found their next property. Buyers should still understand why the home has remained available before treating a long listing period as a bargaining opportunity. An appropriate property survey can help establish whether there are physical issues that may have affected previous interest, while a conveyancer can investigate legal matters affecting the property once an offer is accepted.
4. Sellers can use a slower market to get the transaction ready
When finding a buyer takes longer, sellers have more reason to prepare the legal side of the move before an offer arrives rather than waiting until afterwards. Documents relating to alterations, planning permissions, guarantees or leasehold arrangements can all become sources of delay once conveyancing begins if they have to be located late in the process.
The current slowdown therefore creates two different markets within the same property portals: genuinely fresh homes arriving for sale and older listings still competing for attention weeks or months later. For buyers, knowing which is which can strengthen their negotiating position. For sellers, it is a reminder that simply remaining on the market is not the same as remaining competitive.
