Buyers are being tempted back to the property market by the biggest discounts on house prices in four years.

Homes are being sold for 4.2pc, or £12,125, below the asking price on average, according to Zoopla, a property website. 

In September, discounts reached their highest level since March 2019 following a recent jump in mortgage rates.

The number of buyers rebounded by 12pc in September, but Zoopla said they still retain the upper hand as they refuse to compromise on price.

It remains a buyer’s market, with 80pc more homes available for sale than in September 2021.

The biggest reductions on asking prices are being achieved in London and the South East, at 4.8pc – while in the rest of the UK the rate is 2.8pc, Zoopla said.

Discounts have been on the rise since the summer and are pushing down house prices, which have slipped by 0.5pc in the past year.

Zoopla said this was the first annual drop since 2012, with prices on track to fall 2 to 3pc this year. 

Richard Donnell, executive director of research at Zoopla, said: “The modest fall in prices is not enough to improve affordability to a level that will boost activity. 

“Falling mortgage rates are the most likely route to improving housing affordability, and bringing buyers back into the market in the next 12-18 months.”

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