London: some areas see a third of homes on sale cut their asking prices

An analysis of homes on sale in every borough of London shows up to a third of properties in some areas have had their asking prices cut since originally coming to the market.

The analysis, by Propcision, shows that 33 per cent of homes on sale in the whole borough of Kensington and Chelsea have reduced their asking prices. In some pockets of the borough, even higher proportions exist - for exmaple, four out of 10 homes on sale in Earls Court are reduced.

Between 28 and 30 per cent of the properties listed for sale have undergone a price reduction in Kingston Upon Thames, Hammersmith and Fulham, Wandsworth and Westminster. Postcodes such as W1, W2, and SW8 tend to be the most active postcodes for price cuts says Propcision, a property analysis firm.

However, statistician Michelle Ricci - a co-founder of Propcision - says the reduced asking prices only take the typical prices for existing stock down to much the same level as last year, suggesting overall that prices in central London are roughly static.

“The upward trend Prime Central London enjoyed for the past few years has started to show signs of resistance. This is typically associated with the start of a correction although not necessarily a downward trend. We feel the data suggests asking prices are holding steady with levels seen in the past six months. However, there are particular areas of vulnerability that may start to show demonstrable evidence of a downward trend, most notably new-builds” says Ricci.

A surprise finding in Propcision’s analysis was that Kingston-upon-Thames had roughly 30 per cent of its properties for sale reduced in price: specifically in postcode KT6, Surbiton, some 38 per cent of homes on sale had asking price cuts.