Guide
A third of homes have been reduced: how agents win instructions in a buyer's market
29 October 2026 ยท 2 min read
Rightmove's October figures show 34% of homes on the market have had a price reduction, close to the 2023 peak, with more homes for sale than at any October since 2014. In a market like this, every vendor knows someone whose house sat unsold. That changes what wins an instruction.
Overvaluing has stopped working. The old play, quote high to win and reduce later, depends on the vendor not knowing how it ends. This year they do. A vendor who has watched the house down the road come down twice is not impressed by the highest figure, they are suspicious of it. The agent who explains why a price will get viewings, with the sold evidence on their street, sounds like the one who will actually get them moved.
“The vendor does not need the highest figure. They need the agent most likely to get them moved.”
Lead with evidence, not opinion. Bring the HM Land Registry sold prices for the street and the streets around it, the asking prices of what is on now, and how long those have been on. Show the reductions. A vendor can argue with your opinion; they cannot argue with what sold next door. An appraisal with comparables in a branded document, sent the same day, does more than an hour of talking.
Be first, and be there early. Many homeowners start by typing their address into an online valuation, months before they ring anybody. If that valuation tool is on your website, in your branding, you have their details and a reason to call before any other agent knows they are thinking of moving. In a slow market those early conversations are where next spring's instructions come from.
Show how you will sell it, not just what you will ask. With buyers taking their time, vendors want to know who you already have. A register of applicants matched to their type of home, buyers who are proceedable and have viewed similar properties, is the strongest thing an agent can put in front of a vendor. It says the first viewings are already lined up.
Follow up properly. Most valuations do not turn into instructions on the day. The vendor is seeing two other agents. The one who follows up the next day with the appraisal, a week later with a new comparable, and a month later with what has happened on the street, is the one they remember. That is easy to plan and easy to forget, which is why it should be automatic.
Keep the instruction once you have it. A home that does not sell in the first few weeks needs a plan before the vendor asks for one: feedback from every viewing, a review at four weeks, and a recommendation backed by the same evidence you used to win it.
None of this is new. What is new is that the market has stopped forgiving the agents who skip it.