A record 85% of properties sold for less than the asking price in November, according to NAEA Propertymark.

The trade association for estate agents said this is the highest level seen since records began in 2013, and up from 78% in October.

Last month, only one in 10 (12%) properties sold at the original asking price, also a record low.

Drop in supply

Despite buyers managing to negotiate a discount, there hasn’t been a glut of homes on the market, as you might expect.

In fact, the number of properties available to buy last month hit the lowest level seen since January 2016 – just 34 per estate agent branch and a monthly fall of almost 20%.

The number of sales agreed per branch also decreased for the first time since July, to just seven per month during November.

Mark Hayward, chief executive of NAEA Propertymark, said: “A record number of properties sold for less than the original asking price last month, but despite this, demand for housing and the number of homes available decreased.

“We usually see a slow-down in the property market around Christmas time but our November data shows this happened much earlier this year. It’s clear that more and more potential buyers and sellers have put their plans on hold early so they can start afresh next year.”