Eight in 10 Prime London Homes Sell Below Asking Price, Coutts Finds

Eight in 10 homes in London's most expensive postcodes are now selling below their asking price, according to research from Coutts. The finding, reported by The Guardian, points to a pronounced shift in the balance of power in the capital's prime property market, where buyers are increasingly able to negotiate discounts rather than compete on price.

The figure marks a notable change for London's most sought-after addresses, where asking prices have historically been met or exceeded. A market in which four out of every five transactions close below the listed price indicates that sellers are having to adjust expectations to secure buyers, and that the pricing power that long favoured vendors in these postcodes has weakened.

The research from Coutts, the private bank, covers London's poshest postcodes, the segment of the market most closely associated with wealthy domestic and international buyers. The proportion of sales completing below asking price is the central measure in the findings, and it applies across that top-end segment rather than to the London market as a whole.

For investors with exposure to prime London residential property, the data suggests that valuations based on advertised asking prices may overstate achievable sale values, and that realised transaction prices are the more relevant benchmark. For sellers in these postcodes, the findings imply that pricing at or near the listed level carries a heightened risk of the property failing to sell, given how consistently buyers are now transacting at a discount.