Buy-to-let investors across England and Wales are capitalising on a weakening property market to negotiate discounts of up to £50,000 off asking prices, estate agency Hamptons revealed.
The average landlord paid just 88.7 per cent of the initial asking price in July. That means a typical home listed for £400,000 sold for £354,800, giving buyers a price reduction of £45,200.
Landlords accounted for 14.1 per cent of all property purchases during the month, up from an average of 12.4 per cent across the year to date. Sentiment across the wider housing market has dropped to low levels, with some housebuilders describing the current sales environment as the toughest in decades.
Hamptons noted that investor participation typically rises during market downturns. Experienced buyers use cash reserves and chain-free status to secure reduced prices from motivated sellers needing quick completions.
Discounted offers from cash buyers
Half of all offers submitted by property investors in July 2026 were at least 10 per cent below the seller initial asking price. That represents the highest proportion of steep discount offers recorded since the initial Covid lockdown in April 2020.
The figure marks an increase from 48 per cent of offers in June this year and 45 per cent in July last year. Overall, 56 per cent of all investor offers in July were at least 10 per cent under asking price.
Cash landlords sought even larger price reductions. Almost two-thirds, or 63 per cent, of offers made by cash-backed landlords in England and Wales last month were at least 10 per cent below the original asking price.
By contrast, owner-occupiers made far less aggressive bids. Last month, only 25 per cent of offers from first-time buyers and 27 per cent of offers from home movers were more than 10 per cent below the initial asking price.
"When the market slows, seasoned investors rarely stand on the sidelines for long," said David Fell, lead analyst at Hamptons.
"With homes taking longer to sell and chains proving fragile, landlords are using their liquidity and chain-free status to maximise their leverage when it comes to agreeing a price," Fell said. "In a market where certainty has become more valuable, these benefits tend to be worth more than in hotter markets where sellers often have multiple options on the table."
Sellers accept lower prices
Sellers are increasingly accepting these reduced bids as property listings sit on the market longer. In July, 27 per cent of investor offers that were 10 per cent or more below asking price were accepted, up from 18 per cent in July 2025.
Owners of leasehold flats are accepting the largest discounts due to muted demand in the apartment sector. Sellers of leasehold properties accepted 41 per cent of offers priced at least 10 per cent below asking price last month.
That acceptance rate marks a sharp rise from previous years. In July last year, leasehold owners accepted 18 per cent of such low offers, while in July 2024 only 13 per cent were accepted.
Leasehold property ownership grants a buyer the right to occupy a dwelling for a set term of years, but leaves the underlying land ownership with a freeholder. Flat owners in major urban centers have seen resale values fall sharply over recent months.
Research by real estate analytics firm PropertyData revealed that a majority of flat sellers in central postcodes across Sheffield, Birmingham, Leicester and Newcastle are selling at an average loss of almost £40,000.
In Sheffield city centre, covering the S1 postcode, 62 per cent of flat owners sold their properties at a loss over the past 12 months compared to their original purchase price. In Birmingham city centre, within the B1 postcode, 61 per cent of flat sellers incurred a financial loss over the same 12-month period.
Regional variations across England and Wales
Low offers were most prevalent in Southern England, excluding London. The South East recorded the highest proportion of opportunistic bids in the country, with 70 per cent of investor offers coming in at least 10 per cent below asking price.
The South West followed closely, with 60 per cent of investor offers at least 10 per cent below initial asking prices. Similar proportions of low offers occurred across the North West, Wales, the East of England, and Yorkshire and the Humber.
Acceptance rates varied significantly by region. In the South East, offers that were 10 per cent or more below initial asking price accounted for 54 per cent of all agreed deals, while in the South West they made up 44 per cent of accepted sales.
In the North East, low offers accounted for 32 per cent of agreed transactions. London sellers proved most resistant to discounting, with low offers making up just 16 per cent of agreed deals despite challenging market conditions.
"Sellers who have been on the market for several months are becoming more pragmatic," Fell said. "This is particularly true for flat owners, where demand remains weaker than for houses, or for those selling in the South of England more generally."
Mortgage rates and landlord returns
Rising interest rates continue to shape investment decisions across the housing market. Mortgage borrowing rates have increased following inflation triggered by the conflict with Iran, which dimmed expectations that the Bank of England would cut interest rates.
The Bank of England sets the benchmark base rate that dictates borrowing rates across the UK financial system. Higher borrowing costs mean both residential buyers and buy-to-let investors face increased monthly repayment costs when purchasing or remortgaging properties.
"While higher borrowing costs continue to weigh on investment returns, landlords with cash or low levels of borrowing are finding that a slower market is creating opportunities to purchase at significantly lower prices than would have been possible a few years ago," Fell said.
"For landlords, an upward trajectory in rents provides a counterweight to higher borrowing costs," he added.
