The Rightmove House Price Index for June 2026 shows the average asking price fell to £376,191, a drop of 0.6% on the previous month and the steepest June decline recorded in 14 years. That single figure tells you a great deal about where the market sits right now. Buyers have options. Stock levels are elevated across most of England and Wales, which means a home priced even slightly above where it should be is not generating low offers. It is being skipped entirely.
What elevated stock levels actually mean for sellers
When there are plenty of homes available, buyers can afford to be selective. They are not rushing, and they are not compromising on price just to secure something. If your property sits at the top of a search filter, or if comparable homes nearby are priced more keenly, buyers will simply move on. Portals like Rightmove allow filtering by price bracket, so an inflated asking price can push your home into a bracket where buyers are expecting something bigger or better. You lose the audience most likely to buy.
Negotiating power has shifted. Buyers in this market are more likely to offer below asking, take longer to commit, and walk away if they feel a price is not grounded in reality. That is not pessimism. It is a straightforward reflection of supply and demand.
The damage a price reduction does to your listing
Zoopla's research is clear on this point: a price reduction after launch is more damaging than pricing correctly from the start. The reason is simple. Buyers and their agents watch the portals closely. A price cut signals that something has gone wrong, and it raises questions. Has there been a survey problem? Is the seller desperate? Is there something we are missing? Those questions put buyers on guard even when the answer is simply that the original price was too high.
A home that launches at the right price, generates viewings quickly, and receives an offer within a few weeks presents a very different story. It looks desirable. It moves with momentum. That momentum is genuinely hard to rebuild once a listing has sat on the market for six or eight weeks with a red reduced banner attached.
How to price your home correctly before you list
Start with a professional valuation from a local agent who knows your street, not just your postcode. Online estimates (automated valuation models) use broad data and can be significantly out, in either direction. They are a rough starting point at best.
Ask your agent to show you sold prices for comparable properties nearby, not asking prices. Asking prices reflect hope. Sold prices, available through HM Land Registry and searchable on Rightmove and Zoopla, reflect what buyers actually paid. Look at sales from the past three to six months for the most relevant picture.
Be honest about what makes your home different from those comparables. A similar square footage does not mean identical value if one home has a south-facing garden, a new kitchen, or a parking space and the other does not.
Resist the temptation to inflate for headroom
A survey published earlier this year found that 21% of sellers admitted to deliberately overpricing their home. The reason given most often: they had already found a property they wanted to buy and needed the extra margin to fund it. That is understandable as a motivation, but it is a strategy that tends to backfire. If your home lingers on the market, your own purchase can fall through. You may lose the property you wanted while also damaging the perceived value of the one you are trying to sell.
Price to sell, then negotiate from a position of strength. A clean, well-priced sale gives you far more certainty than a speculative asking price that stalls the process for everyone.
What to do if your listing has already stalled
If your home has been on the market for more than six weeks without an offer, it is worth taking a clear-eyed look at where things stand. Start by asking your agent for honest feedback from viewings, not a polished summary, but the actual comments buyers made. Common themes will emerge.
Check what has sold nearby since you listed. If comparable homes are completing at prices below your current asking price, the market has told you something directly.
- Consider a meaningful price adjustment, not a token one. A reduction of 1% on an overpriced home rarely changes buyer behaviour. A realistic repositioning does.
- Refresh your listing photography if the images are more than a few months old or were taken in poor light.
- Ask your agent whether a short withdrawal and relaunch would help reset the days-on-market counter, though weigh this carefully as it is not always the right call.
The practical takeaway is straightforward. In a market where buyers have real choice, the price you choose at launch is one of the most important decisions you will make as a seller. Get a proper valuation, look at what has actually sold (not just what others are asking), and resist building in margin you cannot justify. If you would like a no-obligation valuation from our team, get in touch with Cooke and Co and we will give you a straight assessment based on your local market.
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