An active but choosy market
There is a temptation in property communications to turn every market report into a prediction. Will prices rise? Will demand return? Are buyers back?
But LRG's summer Sales Report, authored by PNPR, is more useful because it focuses on what buyers and sellers are doing now and on the gap between intention and behaviour. In contrast to many other reports, our Sales Report focuses on sentiment over statistics.
Our analysis tells us that the wider market is not stalled, but it is choosy. Zoopla's May House Price Index reported that more homes were selling than a year earlier, despite fewer active buyers and Rightmove's May House Price Index found buyer choice at its highest level for this time of year since 2015. Sellers have an audience, but not necessarily a captive one.
Confidence leads price
The report, based on a survey of more than 700 buyers and sellers, shows why. Location remains the leading priority, named in the top three by 70% of buyers, followed by price and value for money at 64%. Yet price is where enthusiasm most often turns into refusal. More than half of buyers, 56%, said they would not make an offer on a home they considered overpriced for the property or area.
We can see the impact of that already. Just under half of sellers in the LRG survey had reduced their asking price, rising to 57% among those still on the market. Zoopla research published in May found that 44% of homes listed for sale over the past three years had failed to sell, with unrealistic pricing the main reason. Rightmove has also warned that a reduced home takes an average of 91 more days to sell than one that was not reduced.
For PNPR, the communications point is important, because difficult messages cannot be ignored. In this market, the more credible message is that realism protects value. It reduces delay, keeps buyers engaged and avoids the loss of momentum that can make a listing look stale.
Practical buyers, emotional decisions
The report also shows how practical buyers have become. Gardens, parking, bedrooms and visible condition matter more than aspirational extras. The appetite for a renovation project has not disappeared, but it has narrowed. Only 6% of buyers would actively seek major renovation work, while 41% would consider it only if the price reflected the work needed. Nationwide's first time buyer research found that two-thirds bought a cheaper property because it needed DIY or renovation, but LRG's survey suggests this is often necessity rather than enthusiasm.
Yet it would be wrong to strip the market of emotion. When buyers described what made the biggest impression at a viewing, the most common answer was not the kitchen, garden or hallway, but how the property felt. Some 29% cited the feel of the home. Features may get a buyer through the door, but presentation helps them imagine living there. So does basic discipline: 35% of buyers said they wished sellers would clean, tidy and declutter before going to market.
The same caution shows up in energy efficiency. Eighty-five per cent rated it at least somewhat important, but only 2% would pay significantly more. For sellers, a good energy rating is more likely to remove an objection than to create a premium.
For new-build developers, the incentives most likely to influence buyers are those that cut the cost of moving. Among buyers open to a new-build, 31% said Stamp Duty paid would most influence them, far ahead of softer lifestyle incentives. After the April 2025 changes to Stamp Duty Land Tax thresholds, buyers are scrutinising the whole cost of a move, not just the headline price.
The impact on communications
For property communicators, this is the useful insight. The strongest story is not that the market is buoyant or broken but that buyers are alert, cost-conscious and still capable of emotional commitment when the numbers add up. Good market communication has to hold both ideas together.
Read the full report here.