Nearly one million house price reductions were recorded on listings throughout 2024 – the largest number on record, TwentyEA has revealed.
This number was 8.1% higher than 2023 and 17.6% higher than 2019.
The figures mean that 38% of all concluded listings in 2024 had at least one price reduction.
Compared with last year, the price reduction rate in 2024 increased most in the price bands below £350,000 and rose everywhere in the UK, except for Northern Ireland.
Wales saw the largest growth in the number of price reductions, moving from 36% in 2023 to 40% in 2024.
TwentyEA examined the price reductions regionally and by price band and found that the reductions were likely not caused by agents overvaluing, but instead driven by sellers with unrealistic price ambitions.
Online agents’ market share fell in 2024 to 5.2%, 7% lower than 2023 and 32% lower than 2019.
This group also lost share in all price brackets below £1m, with the largest decline seen in the lower priced band of £0 to £200,000, -13% in the past year.
There was also a decline across all regions of the UK, with the exception of the South West, with the North and Midlands experiencing the largest reductions.
Self-employed agents’ market share continued to grow, rising to 1.8% – 31% higher than 2023 and 592% higher than 2019.
As a collective, these agents now have a larger market share than Purplebricks (1.6%), and William H Brown (1.4%).
Katy Billany, executive director of TwentyEA, said: “Firstly, price reductions are more prevalent within the lower price brackets and secondly there is an increase of price reductions concentrated within specific regions such as Wales.
“If agents were overvaluing, we would expect to see a more stark growth in price reductions across all price brackets and a more even spread of reductions occurring across the regions but that’s not the case, so we suggest sellers are demanding unrealistic asking prices.
“Given the prevalence of price reductions happening right now, we’re expecting to see this continue for the foreseeable future.”
Billany added: “As the market continues to evolve with the numbers of self-employed agencies now higher than ever, there’s no better time to understand the competitive landscape through the power of data.
“Tracking market activity in real-time gives agents the chance to discover how they, their competitors and the national market are performing.
“These are necessary foundation blocks for agents to launch an effective business strategy which can identify opportunities while helping them to laser-focus their marketing on the right audience.”
