Buy-to-let investors are actively exploiting the current downturn in the property market to negotiate substantial discounts, according to data from estate agent Hamptons.
Sentiment within the housing market has reportedly hit a low point, with some developers characterizing the current sales environment as the worst in decades. However, this subdued market is creating opportunities for investors who are using their position as chain-free buyers and their available cash reserves to acquire properties well below their initial asking prices. In July, the average landlord paid 88.7 percent of the listed price, meaning a property initially priced at $400,000 was purchased for approximately $354,800.
This trend has led to an increase in investor activity, with landlords accounting for 14.1 percent of all home purchases in July. This figure is up from the year-to-date average of 12.4 percent. Historically, investor numbers tend to rise during slower markets as experienced investors seek to capitalize on weaker conditions and secure deals from motivated sellers.
Investor offers at or below 10 percent of the initial asking price reached 56 percent in July, a figure that rose to 63 percent among landlords paying with cash. This is the highest proportion of such offers since April 2020, and an increase from 48 percent in June 2026 and 45 percent in July 2025. For cash-backed landlords in England and Wales, nearly two-thirds of offers in July were at least 10 percent under the asking price. In contrast, owner-occupiers were less aggressive, with only 25 percent of first-time buyer offers and 27 percent of home mover offers coming in more than 10 percent 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. 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 are demonstrating an increased willingness to accept these lower offers. In July, 27 percent of investor offers that were 10 percent or more below the asking price were accepted, compared to 18 percent in July 2025. Sellers of leasehold properties, particularly flats, have been more inclined to accept such discounts, with 41 percent of these offers being accepted. This is a notable increase from 18 percent last year and 13 percent in July 2024.
This trend is partly driven by falling property values in city centers. A significant percentage of flat owners in Sheffield, Birmingham, Leicester, and Newcastle are selling at a loss. In Sheffield city center, 62 percent of flat sellers in the S1 postcode have sold for less than they originally paid over the past 12 months, according to research from PropertyData. A similar situation exists in Birmingham city center (B1), where 61 percent of flat sellers have experienced a loss.
The prevalence of lower investor offers was most pronounced in Southern England, excluding London. The South East saw 70 percent of investor offers at least 10 percent below the asking price, followed by the South West with 60 percent. While many of these offers were initially rejected, the acceptance rate for offers 10 percent or more below asking price was 54 percent in the South East and 44 percent in the South West. In contrast, acceptance rates were lower in the North East (32 percent) and London (16 percent), where sellers were least likely to accept reduced offers.
Fell noted that the willingness to accept a lower offer often correlates with how long a property has been on the market. "Sellers who have been on the market for several months are becoming more pragmatic," he 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. 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. For landlords, an upward trajectory in rents provides a counterweight to higher borrowing costs."