Property asking prices remain buoyant

The average discount on original asking prices has also fallen by more than £500 from February to March while average asking price reductions were £19,012.

The drop in proportion and size of asking price discounts emerged despite the reintroduction of stamp duty for first-time buyers and the introduction of the 7% stamp duty tax on properties sold at over £2m.

Nicholas Leeming, business development director at Zoopla, said: “The changes to the stamp duty rules significantly increased the cost of buying for many and there were concerns this would quash demand and force sellers to make bigger cuts in their asking prices.

“However it appears demand has remained strong enough for average discounts to actually fall.”

The total amount knocked off the original asking prices of all properties for sale across the country stood at £2.9bn in March with £1.3bn in reductions in London alone.

Leeming added: “While sellers in some areas have had to make significant price concessions in order to attract buyers, it’s encouraging to see the overall trend of fewer price reductions and a drop in the size of these reductions.”