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This is Money request: Signs the UK's property market falls could be hitting the bottom - and what movers should do to take advantage of the green shoots of recovery

ended 06. August 2026

This is Money/Daily Mail request: 

Journo writing something for the paper.

It will be along the lines of... signs the UK's property market falls could be hitting the bottom - and what movers should do to take advantage of the green shoots of recovery.

Are there telltale signs the property market is on the cusp of turning? 

  • Are institutional investors hoovering up properties from housebuilders in bulk?
  • Is falling inflation and solid wage growth improving affordability? 
  • Is there slightly more political stability?
  • Would be good to have some expert opinion on how to decide whether to stand on the side lines or get stuck in now while there are bargains?
  • How do home movers manage it – should they accept a lower price on their home for the opportunity to buy cheaper up the ladder? 
  • Any tips for finding a bargain and some examples of listings where prices have fallen on the types of properties that were once very sought after. 

Responses by 4pm today.

11 responses from the Newspage community

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Matt CoulsonVerified
Founder at Heron Financial Ltd
Everyone's fixated on whether we've hit the bottom. If you're actually moving home, that's the wrong thing to worry about. When you sell and buy at once, you're doing both in the same market, so the headline price barely matters. What matters is the gap between the two, and this is the bit most people miss: in a softer market, trading up gets cheaper. A 10% dip takes far more off the bigger home you're buying than the smaller one you're selling, so the cost of moving up actually comes down. The recovery everyone's waiting for is the very thing that would make trading up dearer. The green shoots people point to, investors buying in bulk and inflation easing, don't touch what really caps prices: what a mortgage costs each month, and that's still stretched. So I wouldn't bank on a big bounce, and I certainly wouldn't sit on my hands waiting for one. Rather than chasing a bottom you can't control, I'd keep it simple and watch two things: the trade-up gap, and the rate on your new loan.
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David StirlingVerified
Independent Financial Adviser at Mint Wealth
The housing market is doing what it always does: turning just as everyone has convinced themselves it's doomed. Investors seem to be snapping up new-builds because the sums finally add up again. Falling inflation, rising wages and lender innovation around affordability are doing more for buyers than years of political promises ever managed.

If you're moving up the ladder, don't lose sleep over accepting a lower offer. Chances are you'll be buying at a discount too, and most likely on a more expensive home, that's where the real saving is.

The bargains are sitting exactly where previous optimism peaked: overpriced city centre flats, commuter belt homes priced for a working from home revolution that quietly went into reverse and renovation projects that have scared off everyone else.

Labour said it would fix the housing market. In the end, the market appears to have done what markets usually do and ignore Westminster and get on with it.
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Craig FishVerified
Director at Lodestone Mortgages
The property market isn't crashing back to life, it's thawing slowly, and there are real green shoots if you know where to look. Housebuilders are quietly offloading stock to institutional investors at discounts of 15-20%, a sign they expect a slower market, not a bounce. Wage growth is still edging ahead of inflation, so affordability is improving even with mortgage rates creeping up this year. I'd stop short of calling this political stability though, we've just had our seventh Prime Minister in a decade. For movers, the real opportunity is trading down and up together: accept a lower offer on your home in today's buyer's market and you'll claw back more on the pricier home you're moving into, because discounts are worth more in cash terms further up the ladder. I'm telling clients not to wait for a starting gun that isn't coming. If the numbers work today, they'll likely work better than waiting for a recovery that's already priced in by the time it's obvious.
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Mark AlexanderVerified
Founder at Property118.com
Flats seem to have suffered some of the steepest valuation falls recently, with hundreds, sometimes thousands, listed for sale across many major towns and cities. A lot of landlords are keen to exit, so making offers 10% or even 20% below asking price on several suitable properties could uncover a genuine bargain.
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Stephen PerkinsVerified
Managing Director at Yellow Brick Mortgages
Nobody rings a bell when the property market reaches the bottom, so waiting for absolute certainty usually means missing the earliest opportunities. The green shoots are more realistic asking prices, improving affordability and buyers having greater room to negotiate, but recovery will vary sharply by area and property type.

For home movers, the important figure is often the price gap rather than the price of either home. Accepting £10,000 less on your current property can still make sense if you negotiate £25,000 off the more expensive home you’re buying. A quieter market can therefore be one of the best times to move up the ladder, provided the purchase suits your finances and long-term plans.
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Riz MalikVerified
Independent Financial Adviser at R3 Wealth
When chains can work in a reasonable time frame will be a good indication that the market is recovering and we are far from that. I recently spoke to someone who was prepared to take a £75k haircut on his previously advertised price to sell his property. He then planned to rent so he could negotiate hard and buy chain free. He has the means to do that, many don’t. Someone needs to take individual responsibility to sorting out the housing market if that is this governments true aim.
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Harvey DhillonVerified
Founder & CEO at Zmartly
I think this is a false dawn, not a bottom. Everyone is watching the base rate. I would watch what AI is doing to white-collar work. Housebuilders selling to institutions in bulk at a discount is not demand returning. It is a builder who does not fancy next year either.

In our own client base, firms are posting record growth with no increase in staffing cost. That is not redundancies. It is the hire that never happens. Senior people go to an AI model rather than to their junior, and the next intake never gets hired.

That is the part nobody has priced. A hiring freeze makes no announcement and shows up in no redundancy figure. It arrives years later, as salaries never earned and the jobs not being created are professional ones, so this lands on the senior executive in the expensive postcode, not the first-time buyer. The commuter belt homes being called bargains sit in those areas.

Trading up now is a bet that the top of the market holds. I would not make it.
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Paul DenleyVerified
CEO at Oakham Wealth Management
“Green shoots” may be premature. Nationally, prices are broadly flat, but beneath the surface it’s a two-speed market. Buyer demand remains subdued, sales volumes are still relatively weak and more sellers are having to cut asking prices. Mortgage rates around 5.6% continue to constrain affordability, despite easing inflation. Institutional investors are buying some new build and build-to-rent stock in bulk, but that does not mean prices are being supported on your street. Nobody rings a bell at the bottom. If trading up, accepting less for your own home may be worthwhile if the property you are buying has fallen further in cash terms. Also, being a cash buyer makes you attractive to a seller, if you can bear the cost and upheaval of temporary accommodation. Target motivated sellers, long listed homes and price reductions - and be prepared to negotiate.
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Peter DockarVerified
Chief Commercial Officer at Gen H (Generation Home)
The market is firmly in favour of buyers right now – house price listings are flat year on year but sales are down by about 6% according to Rightmove. If you're buying your first home, now could be the perfect time to buy.

Falling house prices can feel really worrying to movers, but if you're buying in a similar market, then its likely you'll be selling for a little less and also buying for less – a lot less, depending on how you're able to negotiate. This could be a great opportunity.

The real question is: can you afford the home you want? Can you get the mortgage you need? If yes, then trying to time the market is an unnecessary distraction.

It is easy to get wrapped up in the idea that buying a home is an investment – and in some ways, of course, it is. But more than that, it is your place to set down roots. Is it better to try to time the market to net a few thousand pounds more – a risky strategy to begin with – or to act with intention and buy a home you'll spend years in?
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Jamie AlexanderVerified
Mortgage Director at Alexander Southwell Mortgages
It is too early to call a bottom with confidence, but the conditions for recovery are quietly assembling. Inflation is easing, wage growth has held up, and mortgage rates are heading in the right direction. That combination does not turn a market overnight but it does change the mood, and sentiment is what moves buyers off the fence.

The green shoots are there if you look for them. Lenders competing on rates, more stock coming to market, sellers becoming more realistic on pricing. None of that is a recovery, but it is a market that is thawing.

For home movers the maths is worth doing seriously. Taking a slightly lower offer on your current home can feel painful, but if you are buying further up the ladder the saving on your purchase almost always outweighs what you gave away on the sale. A £10,000 reduction on a £300,000 sale looks very different when the £500,000 property you are buying has come down by £25,000.

People who wait for certainty before acting tend to miss the window.
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Gaurav ShuklaVerified
CEO at Home Me Mortgages
There are encouraging signs the property market is stabilising. Mortgage competition is slowly improving as some rates have eased from recent highs and stronger wage growth has helped affordability for many households. While we’re not on the cusp of another boom, buyer confidence is gradually returning.

For home movers, don’t focus solely on your sale price. If your home is worth slightly less, the property you’re buying has likely fallen too. On a more expensive home, that reduction can outweigh any discount on your own sale, making it an attractive time to move up the ladder.

Trying to time the market rarely pays off. If you’ve found the right home, your finances are secure and repayments are affordable, it’s often better to act than wait. Buyers should target homes with price reductions, longer marketing periods or those needing cosmetic improvements, as sellers are generally more open to negotiation.