Editor's note: This brief was summarised by The Property AI Newsroom from a report by Property Industry Eye. Read the original article for full details.

New Listings Outpace Sales Agreed in July, Conversion Rate Falls

Sprift’s latest Sales Market Intelligence Report for July 2026 found that new property listings increased by 2.6% to 209,941, outpacing a 1.1% rise in sales agreed. The national conversion rate eased to 54.6%, with regional differences in conversion and price reductions highlighted across Great Britain.

According to the report, the growth in new listings exceeded the growth in sales agreed for the first time since spring. While new listings reached 209,941, sales agreed totalled 114,561, resulting in a national conversion rate drop of 0.8 percentage points from the previous month. The conversion rate has steadily declined since its peak of 69.7% in November.

Price reductions affected 31.3% of stock in July, slightly lower than June’s 31.8%. Nationally, 95,380 listings remain unconverted, with nearly four in ten of these carrying a price reduction. The total number of properties for sale across Great Britain stood at 748,652, with an average time on the market of 155 days.

Regional Variations

The report notes significant regional differences. Scotland led with a conversion rate of 77.0%, followed by Yorkshire and the Humber at 64.5%, and Wales at 62.8%. London recorded the lowest conversion rate at 39.4%, marking the widest gap between any two regions this year at 37.6 percentage points. Six out of eleven regions converted above the national average, including the West Midlands, North East, and North West.

Price reductions also varied by region. The South East had the highest rate at 43.6% of listings, while Scotland had the lowest at 21.5%. The South East also held the largest backlog of unconverted properties at 17,637, compared to Scotland’s 2,559.

Market Context

Despite the Bank of England holding interest rates steady in July, mortgage costs continued to rise, with two-year fixed rates reaching 5.62%, up from 4.83% in February. Consumer confidence was reported at -17.

Planning applications increased by 56.2% to 19,682 in July, though the approval rate eased to 85.0% as refusals grew faster than approvals. These consents are expected to impact supply in two to three years if the trend continues.