Buy-to-let landlords are taking advantage of the softer UK housing market to negotiate lower prices, with new research from Hamptons showing investors are increasingly making offers well below sellers’ original asking prices.
The research found that landlords accounted for 14.1% of all property purchases in July, compared with an average of 12.4% so far this year. With many investors able to buy without a property chain, landlords are in a stronger position to negotiate with sellers who are keen to complete a sale.
Landlords Are Making More Aggressive Offers
The average buy-to-let investor paid just 88.7% of the original asking price in July, highlighting how much room there is for negotiation in the current market.
More than half of investor offers – 56% – were at least 10% below the seller’s initial asking price. This was the highest proportion recorded since the first Covid lockdown in 2020.
It also represents a noticeable increase from the 48% recorded in June and 45% in July last year.
Cash buyers were even more willing to push for a discount. Hamptons found that 63% of offers from cash-backed landlords in England and Wales were at least 10% below the original asking price.
By comparison, owner-occupiers were less aggressive with their offers. Only around a quarter of offers from first-time buyers and 27% from homemovers were more than 10% below the original asking price.
This could reflect the greater flexibility available to landlords, particularly those with cash available or limited borrowing. Buyers who need a mortgage or are involved in a property chain may have less room to negotiate.
A Slower Market Is Creating Opportunities
Hamptons analyst David Fell said landlords tend to become more active when the housing market slows.
With properties taking longer to sell and chains becoming less certain, sellers may place greater value on buyers who can move quickly and offer a straightforward transaction.
This gives chain-free landlords an advantage when negotiating.
For investors with cash or relatively low borrowing costs, the current market could therefore provide opportunities to buy properties at prices that would have been much harder to achieve during a stronger housing market.
However, higher mortgage costs continue to put pressure on rental yields and investment returns, meaning landlords still need to carefully assess the numbers before making an offer.
Sellers Are Becoming More Willing to Negotiate
It is not only landlords who are changing their approach. Sellers are increasingly accepting offers that would previously have been considered too low.
In July, 27% of investor offers that were at least 10% below the original asking price were accepted. This compares with just 18% in July 2025.
The difference was particularly noticeable among sellers of leasehold properties. Around 41% of discounted investor offers for leasehold homes were accepted, suggesting that flats remain under greater pricing pressure than houses.
This could be particularly relevant for landlords looking to expand portfolios with flats, although factors such as service charges, lease length and rental demand still need to be considered.
The Longer a Property Sits, the Greater the Discount
How long a property has been on the market also appears to have a significant impact on the price sellers are willing to accept.
Hamptons found that properties which had been listed for around 45 days typically sold to investors for within 10% of the original asking price.
However, properties that had been on the market for around 109 days were more likely to accept offers at least 10% below the initial asking price.
For homes that had remained unsold for around 140 days, several price reductions had often already taken place before a discounted investor offer was accepted.
For landlords, this suggests that monitoring properties that have been sitting on the market for several months could create opportunities for stronger negotiations.
Southern England Sees Some of the Biggest Discounts
The trend towards lower investor offers was particularly strong across Southern England, excluding London.
In the South East, 70% of investor offers were at least 10% below the original asking price, while the figure stood at 60% in the South West.
However, not every low offer was accepted. Around 54% of discounted offers in the South East were eventually agreed, compared with 44% in the South West.
London was very different, with only 30% of investor offers coming in at least 10% below the original asking price, and just 16% of these discounted offers being accepted.
The North East also recorded a lower proportion, with 39% of investor offers being at least 10% below asking.
This shows that the negotiating power available to landlords varies considerably depending on the local market.
Rental Growth Is Starting to Pick Up
Despite the weaker sales market, there was some positive news for landlords on the rental side.
Hamptons reported that rents on newly agreed lets in Great Britain increased by 1.9% year-on-year in July, taking the average monthly rent for a new tenancy to £1,401.
This represented the fastest annual growth rate for new lets in 19 months.
Southern England was one of the main areas driving the increase, with newly agreed rents rising more quickly after a period of slower growth.
In the South East, the average rent for a new let reached £1,507 per month, while newly agreed rents in Outer London moved back above £2,000.
Across all rental properties, including existing tenancies, annual rental growth was slightly slower. Growth eased from 2.2% in June to 2.1% in July, with the average monthly rent across Great Britain reaching £1,258.
What Does This Mean for Property Investors?
The latest Hamptons figures suggest that the current market is giving some landlords more negotiating power.
A combination of longer selling periods, cautious buyers and sellers becoming more flexible is allowing investors to make offers that would have been much harder to achieve when demand was stronger.
However, securing a property at a discount does not automatically make it a good investment. Landlords still need to consider mortgage rates, rental income, maintenance costs, tax, service charges and potential changes to property values before committing.
The improving rental market could provide some support, particularly for landlords able to secure properties at a lower purchase price.
For investors with available cash or strong financing, the current conditions could therefore be worth watching closely. Properties that have been on the market for several months may offer more room for negotiation, particularly where sellers are motivated to complete.
Key Takeaway
The UK housing market may be softer, but that does not necessarily mean landlords are stepping back. Instead, Hamptons’ figures suggest that some investors are using the slower market to negotiate harder and secure properties at significantly below the original asking price.
At the same time, the gradual improvement in rental growth could give landlords another reason to keep looking for opportunities – provided the numbers still work after financing and running costs are taken into account.
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