The gap between homes coming onto the market and sales being agreed has widened sharply, raising fresh concerns about buyer demand and growing pressure on asking prices.
New figures from property data firm Sprift show that 213,048 homes came onto the market across Great Britain in September, up 14.8% on August.
However, agreed sales fell 16.1% to 89,192, leaving a gap of 123,856 between new instructions and transactions agreed.
The national sales conversion rate dropped to 41.9%, down 15.4 percentage points in a month. It was the lowest reading of the year outside December.
Conversion had remained between 50.2% and 58.5% throughout January to August, making September’s decline particularly pronounced.
The slowdown coincided with rising borrowing costs.
The average two-year fixed mortgage rate reached 5.93% by 1 October. Meanwhile, the effective rate on newly drawn mortgages rose from 4.45% to 4.60%.
Mortgage approvals for house purchases also slipped to 54,900 in August, their lowest level since December 2023.
London struggles as Scotland outperforms
The figures reveal substantial regional differences.
Scotland recorded the strongest sales conversion rate at 69.5%, compared with just 27% in London.
That represents a gap of 42.5 percentage points.
Six regions exceeded the national conversion rate. All were in northern England, the Midlands, Wales or Scotland.
Every southern region fell below the national average.
London saw new listings jump 28.7%, while agreed sales declined 14.8%. This created a gap of 20,868 between new instructions and sales agreed.
The South East recorded the largest regional gap at 23,253.
Together, London and the South East accounted for roughly a third of Britain’s available housing stock.
Both regions also recorded high levels of price reductions. Some 43.7% of properties in the South East had undergone a reduction, compared with 40.9% in London.
Larger homes face growing pressure
The slowdown was particularly noticeable among larger detached properties.
New listings of detached homes with five or more bedrooms increased 36.3% in September.
However, their sales conversion rate fell from 51.7% to 31.9% in a month.
By contrast, two-bedroom bungalows recorded the strongest conversion rate of any property category, at 61.4%.
The research also highlighted substantial differences in selling times.
Semi-detached homes in Scotland averaged 99.3 days on the market, the shortest period among the regional property categories examined.
Flats in the North West took an average of 234.5 days, the longest.
Sellers cut asking prices sooner
Growing competition appears to be prompting sellers to adjust their expectations.
The proportion of properties undergoing a price reduction rose from 27.2% to 33.3% in September.
By the end of the month, 39.3% of all homes for sale had experienced at least one asking price reduction.
Sellers also acted sooner.
The average time before a price change shortened in ten of the 11 regions.
In London, the period fell from 81 to 75 days. In Scotland, sellers reduced prices after an average of 51 days.
Sprift also found that properties which had fallen through were priced below the average new instruction in every region.
London recorded the largest difference, with an average fall-through price of £662,448 against an average new instruction price of £849,736.
Matt Gilpin, founder and CEO of Sprift, said: “September showed how quickly confidence can turn. Sellers came back after the summer, but many buyers paused as borrowing costs climbed. More homes chasing fewer committed buyers puts the onus on pricing. The agents who bring that evidence into the valuation will win the instructions that go on to sell.”
The figures come ahead of the Budget on 28 October and the Bank of England’s next interest rate decision on 5 November.
Both events could influence buyer confidence and mortgage pricing as the market heads towards the end of the year.
