Property sellers advised to set a realistic price

August 8, 2026 by Brendan O'Neill

House Prices

People who are looking to sell their homes have been advised to put a realistic price on them, based on current conditions.

This advice comes from Zoopla, in the wake of its new House Price Index. This reveals a slowing of annual price growth, from 1.7% to 1.3%. It also shows a reduction in the number of completed home sales during the last four weeks. This number fell by 9% in comparison to that same four-week period last year. Much of the slowdown in housing market activity is due to economic instability and higher mortgage rates.

Zoopla has stated that it thinks matters will get better for the market during early autumn. It points out that September is traditionally a month where sales rise, because sellers alter their expectations to attract buyers. However, Zoopla is urging sellers to be sensible now, instead of holding off for this recovery.

There are factors that could affect the scale of the bounce-back. One is that mortgage rates need to remain more or less the same. Another is that the ongoing Middle East conflict may bring further inflation and cost of living rises.

Richard Donnell is the executive director at Zoopla. He told Mortgage Strategy that activity had slowed more this summer than usual, before adding:

“But it’s not all one-way traffic, sales are still getting done, house prices are still rising in most of the country, and buyers have more room to negotiate than they’ve had in some time.”

Mortgage advisors with CeMAP training will certainly want to see competitive house prices.