The average discount from asking price to agreed purchase price has narrowed from 4.5% last November to 3.9% in March 2024, said Zoopla.
This is the lowest level since July 2023 and equates to an average £10,000 discount compared to a £14,250 discount in November.
The property portal said this reflects a ‘combination of greater realism from sellers on their asking price’ and is in line with the pre-pandemic average.
House prices have fallen 0.3% in the last year, but this is a marked improvement on the -1.4% seen in October 2023.
Rise in supply
More sellers are returning to the market, with the stock of homes for sale up 20% on this time last year.
The average estate agent had almost 30 homes for sale in Q1 2024, a return to the pre-pandemic average. This means buyers have more choice and room to negotiate, said Zoopla.
New sales agreed are also up, 9% higher than a year ago, with 7% more home sales agreed over Q1 2024 compared to a year earlier.
The strongest growth in sales activity is in the North West (+13%) and Yorkshire and the Humber (+11%), and the strongest growth in new sellers listing homes is in the South West (+28%) and the North East (+26%).
Richard Donnell, executive director at Zoopla, said: “Rising wages and falling mortgage rates have boosted consumer confidence and this is feeding into improving levels of housing market activity over the first quarter of 2024.
"House prices are falling at a slower rate but it remains a buyers market where there is much greater choice of homes for sale.
We don't believe that house prices are about to increase more quickly but there is more buyer interest. Sellers need to remain realistic on where they set the asking price if they are to take advantage of improving market conditions to secure a sale and move home in 2024."
