What can sellers do in a buyer's market in Britain's stagnant housing market?

A buyer's market has resulted from higher mortgage rates and an excess of available real estate

What steps can sellers take to increase the likelihood of moving?

The UK housing market is seeing a return of buyers, but sellers will have to make every effort to move their properties due to an abundance of available stock.

According to Zoopla's most recent house price index, July 2026 website searches were 7% more than July 2025.

But supply is exceeding demand. According to Zoopla, the number of homes for sale on its portal increased by 5% in July 2026 over the same month in 2025.

In addition, the number of available properties in July 2026 was almost at a 12-year high, according to the real estate website Rightmove.

Watch the entire video here. According to some real estate brokers, we are currently firmly in a "buyers market," which is characterized as a time when supply is greater than demand.

We are in a buyers' market, but why?

One of the main reasons we're in a buyer's market, according to Tom Bill, head of UK residential research at real estate firm Knight Frank, is "uncertainty."

He claimed that concerns about what might be revealed in the upcoming budget, speculation leading up to last year's autumn budget, and fluctuating mortgage rates brought on by the Iran conflict have all hurt demand and slowed transactions.

HMRC reports that there were 96,710 residential transactions in the UK in July 2026, which is 1% less than in July 2025 and 2% less than in June 2026.

"Over the past 12 months, things have been a bit stop-start and it's causing buyers to hesitate and to think twice," stated Bill.

Although there isn't as much conjecture as there was last year, people anticipate that the 2026 Budget will include higher taxes on wealth and assets due to the government's limited flexibility."

In the meantime, an abundance of apartments are being offered for sale.

According to Polly Ogden Duffy, managing director of estate agents John D. Wood, some of these apartments are being sold by landlords who are withdrawing from the buy-to-let market, partly because of the Renters Rights Act's implementation in May 2026 and rising taxes.

According to research firm Kalkine, about 93,000 landlords left the buy-to-let market in 2025, and an additional 110,000 are expected to do so in 2026.

"Compared to maybe five years ago, there are so many reasons today for landlords to not enter the buy-to-let market," Ogden Duffy stated.

Additionally, she stated that buyers eager to avoid paying stamp duty twice might be avoiding smaller apartments, which could lead to an increase in the number of available apartments.

"Buyers are attempting to steer clear of purchasing a one-bedroom apartment in favor of either a larger apartment or a small house as their first purchase."

According to Ogden Duffy, buyers have additional reasons not to purchase apartments due to high service fees and slow flat price growth in recent years.

How could Andy Burnham assist vendors?

Although experts believe that eliminating stamp duty would be one of the best ways to encourage homebuyers and boost demand, Prime Minister Andy Burnham rejected the idea back in July.

"Although we are in a more stable period with mortgage rates," stated David Hollingworth, associate director of the broker LandC Mortgages. Dot stamp duty is a significant expense that many will consider to be worthless, and it serves as yet another deterrent to moving."

Wealth manager Rathbones believes that eliminating stamp duty could stimulate the market and help unlock some of the 5.5 trillion worth of UK housing wealth.

According to their analysis, eliminating the tax would result in an additional 300,000 real estate transactions annually.

According to Ogden Duffy, raising the thresholds at which stamp duty is paid would somewhat stimulate the market even if the government decided against doing away with it entirely.

More solutions have been demanded by others. The CEO of real estate company Bellway, Jason Honeyman, stated last month that in order to boost demand, the government ought to implement a deposit assistance program for first-time purchasers.

How can a homeowner sell their house?

According to Ogden Duffy, accurately pricing your property is one of the most crucial things you can do as a seller in the current market.

She continued, "If you are not pricing your property below your competition, you have to accept that you may not sell."

According to a recent Zoopla study, 44% of UK homeowners who listed their properties for sale in the previous three years were unable to sell them, and 34% of them acknowledged that their prices were too high.

According to Ogden Duffy, there is a chance to rent out your property if you can't bear the financial impact of a lower asking price because so many landlords are leaving the market and rents are rising.

The ONS reports that during the 12 months ending in July 2026, the average monthly private rent in the UK rose by 3.7 percent to 1,393.

What happens if you decide not to lower your asking price or become a landlord?

There are other ways to increase your home's chances of selling if you don't want to drastically lower your asking price and aren't interested in renting it out.

Ogden Duffy stated: "In this day and age, I wouldn't use an estate agent unless they had a professional photographer. A really good photographer will present your property in the best possible light, and they aren't just taking photos. First impressions count."

"They can help you reposition furniture, clear surfaces, and recommend better lighting times of day."

Ogden Duffy added that posting a for sale sign outside your house and listing your property on as many real estate portals as you can will boost your exposure.

She advised eliminating any "wildly eccentric" details from your house and attempting to stay out of a chain of more than three sellers, as this will raise the possibility of delays that could cause the chain to collapse.

According to Hollingworth, getting valuations from several real estate brokers can help you decide how much to list your house for. For instance, you could compute the average of all the valuations.

Additionally, he said that by speaking with several agents, you can select the one who is most eager to sell your house and will work to get the best price.