According to the portal's data, sellers are twice as likely to find a buyer for their home if the asking price it is first listed at does not have to change.
Rightmove tracked over 300,000 homes that were first put up for sale between 13th May and 31st July, to see if they were subsequently reduced and also if they were marked under offer or Sold Subject to Contract. The cut-off date for any reductions or sales activity was 10th September.
Out of all properties put up for sale that were not reduced, 63% of them have been marked under offer or Sold Subject to Contract. Out of all properties put up for sale that had at least one reduction, only 32% of them have been marked under offer or Sold Subject to Contract.
Furthermore, homes priced right the first time are on average getting an offer accepted 26 days more quickly than those that have had to have at least one reduction before they get an offer accepted.
In the current market, for those properties that haven’t been reduced and that have found a buyer, the average number of days from first listed to finding a buyer is 21. For those that have been reduced and have found a buyer, the average is 41 days.
Currently, 16% of properties on Rightmove have had at least one reduction since May. This is an improvement on the 18% for the same period last year. The average size of a reduction is also slightly lower, at 5%, compared to 5.2% last year. This means an average reduction of almost £16,000 based on the current national average asking price of £319,497.
London is the only region with more reductions than last year, up marginally from 19% to 20%.
Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s Director of Property Data, explains:
“This analysis shows just how vital it is that sellers listen to their agent when they recommend the asking price that the property should be listed at. If sellers are serious about selling, then starting with too high an asking price can cause unnecessary delays, and also make it a lot less likely they will actually find a buyer in the end.
"The temporary stamp duty holiday means more sellers are in a hurry to get a sale through conveyancing, and with this also taking longer at the minute a realistic asking price could soon end up being the difference between completing in time or losing out on the savings.
“A number of properties are reduced every year, and it’s important to say that not all cases are down to over-pricing. If there’s an area of lower demand than supply then a reduction may be needed if the seller needs to move. Also if prices have gone down in an area it’s understandable that a seller will be hesitant or may not be able to afford to put their home on for a lower price than they bought it for.
"But in the busy market we have right now there will also be some sellers who may think it’s worth a punt to ask for their home to be put up for sale for the same price as their neighbour across the road, when their neighbour may have extra room or their home may be in a better condition. A good local agent will be able to look at a number of things before valuing a home, such as the condition of the home and comparable properties, making them the experts at getting the price right first time.”
