Has the market turned?

[Rollercoaster1920]

Prices seem to have dropped in my bit of zone 2 SW London, also seeing reductions. Is this isolated or do others see the same?

I've been considering moving but the expense and poor job security has stopped those thoughts. But I keep looking!

Most definitely. I have noticed the same.
Prices have dropped a lot, specially for flats. People no longer keen on leaseholds and even share of freehold. A property next door, that fully updated and extended, has been seating on the market since December. I’m North London.
I’m very glad I don’t have to make a move now. Still, prices are up slightly from last years. Maybe it’s the market still adapting to the new stamp duty and higher labour costs for renovations.

I think it's going to pick up because there are more mortgage products now as the rate's gone down. Locally (SE London) freeholds are flying out of the door and leaseholds not so much. Nationwide data says annual uplift 3.5%

It depends on the area and type of property. In many areas, the market has fallen since 2022 and then remained stagnant and slow with many properties slowly reducing. I think there is a decent chance that we may be seeing a turn downwards now overall nationally. This is definitely happening in the US, again dependent on area, but there is lots of data to show this.
Even Rightmove index of initial asking prices, ignoring all the reductions shows a fall in June. I linked to this on another thread as it wasn't well publicised. With economy turning further downwards, I can't see a good reason why prices should suddenly pick up for the majority.

www.theguardian.com/business/2025/jun/16/uk-house-prices-market-rightmove-stamp-duty

Your comments about expense and poor job security are exactly the same for so many people and exactly why I foresee further reductions in price.

I'm trying to sell a flat just a bit outside London and it's a challenge. First time buyers don't want property with no outside space and Landlords don't want to pay anything more than an insulting price.

Property predictions say London smashed the ceiling and hit its limit, theres nowhere to go but down. Property investors are bailing out of London.

At the same time the 'flat' market is crashing too (which is a huge part of the London market). Too many issues with flats (like unpredictable fees and changing regulations and worries after events like grenfell etc...).

Also an increase in working from home means less need to be in cities but more need for large home spaces.

Definitely a correction...too many sellers and not enough buyers. Where I am houses have always sold like hotcakes due to the excellent grammars, but there are increasing numbers of 'reduced' banners on properties now.

North and West London markets are tanking.

Lots and lots of sold signs popping up where we are, many on houses that have been on the market for a year, including us 🤞

Where we are in North London most properties (houses) go very quickly. We sold ours quickly and had multiple offers. We have lost out on a number of houses due to being outbid on best and final. There are a fair few reductions in prices but mainly properties that require a major makeover. Those that don't are selling pretty fast.

Makes sense. Round us (SW) materials are expensive, labour more so but more than that tradies are too few and far between. I think people want to move into houses they don't need to lift a finger on - too afraid of spiralling costs and pinning down builders/plasterers etc. As such it appears well dressed family homes are fairly bouyant here. However all second home/holiday let and dooerupper sales are frozen. I can't see any changes on the horizon that would change the state of affairs significantly so I expect this to continue well into next year. Buyers market in the SW if you have a 1mill+ budget.

Now the ONS (whose figures have become extremely questionable due to their massive revisions) have just reported a big drop after the end of the stamp duty holiday from an average of £271,000 to £265,000.

So you might be right @Rollercoaster1920

It seems to be country wide and the more expensive the home the bigger the discounts percentage wise from what I am seeing.

I agree with that @TheNoonBell. The more expensive homes seem to be really struggling to sell. They won't be helped by the fact that more and more stock continues to come to market.

That's interesting that you are seeing lots of 'sold' signs recently @MrsSkylerWhite. It seems to be opposite here, with more and more 'for sale' signs with only a small percentage selling. Good luck with your own sale.

Agree - in my village (North Bucks) you can generally sell sub £450K - anything in the £700K+ market is lingering on the market - they will get taken off the market in the Autumn and relisted in the Spring - there's at least two that have done this iteration at least twice!