September 2026 Sales Market Intelligence Report: Conversion rate hits six month high as Scotland-London gap narrows to 34 points

Key findings from the report include:

• 185,595 new listings across Great Britain (down 11.6% vs July)

• 106,296 sales agreed (down 7.2% vs July)

• 57.3% SSTC conversion rate (up 2.7 percentage points vs July), the highest reading since February

• 38.5% of listings currently for sale carry a price reduction, averaging 8.6% off the asking price

• Scotland leads conversion at 74.8%, London records the weakest conversion in Great Britain at 40.8%

• Eight of 11 regions above the GB SSTC conversion average, led by Scotland (74.8%), North East (64.3%) and Wales (62.7%)
  
  

National SSTC conversion rate hits six month high as new listings fall 11.6%

New listings fell 11.6% to 185,595 in August while sales agreed fell by a smaller 7.2% to 106,296, pushing the national SSTC conversion rate up 2.7 percentage points to 57.3%. The bigger story is in the shape of that shift: sales agreed held up far better than new listings this month, a sign that buyers are still active even as fewer vendors are willing to test the market.

Conversion peaked at 69.7% last November and has moved unevenly since, dipping to 40.7% in December before recovering, and August's reading is the strongest since February's 58.5%. Terraced homes remain the most listed property type nationally at 43,528 new instructions, while one bed bungalows convert best of any segment at 88.2%, comfortably ahead of every other type and bedroom combination. Just over four in ten of August's new listings, 79,299 in total, remain unsold for now.

For agents, the signal for September is clear. With listings falling faster than sales agreed and conversion sitting at a six-month high, well priced instructions are moving quickly this autumn. Use August's average wait of 71 days before a first price cut as a rough deadline for reviewing a stale listing with a vendor, rather than waiting for them to raise it first.

Regional SSTC conversion rates split sharply as the Scotland-London gap narrows to 34 points

Scotland and London sit at opposite ends of the regional picture again this month, though the gap between them has narrowed slightly. Scotland converted 74.8% of new listings, the strongest rate in Great Britain, while London converted just 40.8%, the weakest rate of any region, 34.0 percentage points behind Scotland and down from July's 37.6 point gap.

North East followed at 64.3%, with Wales close behind at 62.7%. North West converted at 61.8% and Yorkshire and the Humber at 60.6%, with South West, South East and East Midlands rounding out eight regions above the 57.3% national average. West Midlands and East of England trail the average, at 55.0% and 54.9% respectively.

Supply tells a similar story. The South East and London together hold roughly a third of all stock for sale in Great Britain, and with reduction rates of 43.0% and 41.2% respectively, much of that stock still looks overpriced at launch. Scotland's reduction rate of 22.3% is the lowest in the country, while the North East's unconverted pipeline of just 2,501 homes is the tightest of any region. London's backlog of 13,157 new listings still searching for a buyer is the largest, a reminder that its weak conversion rate is doing more damage than its price cuts are fixing.

For agents working in London, that combination of the largest backlog and an elevated reduction rate is a signal to have the pricing conversation earlier rather than later. Scotland and the North East show what a disciplined, well priced pipeline can still achieve, even as the wider market slows into autumn.

Planning applications ease as approval rate ticks up to 85.7%

Planning applications fell 8.8% to 17,947 in August, with approvals down a smaller 2.8% to 5,660 and refusals down 8.2% to 944. Measured against decided applications, the approval rate actually improved to 85.7%, up from 85.0% in July, suggesting applicants pulled back rather than planners toughening up.

Terraced applications fell fastest of any type, down 15.3%, while semi detached schemes held the highest approval rate at 86.5%. Regionally, the South East led volume with 3,761 applications, and the North East was the only region where applications grew, up 17.3%, albeit against one of the lowest approval rates in Great Britain at 81.8%. Approval rates vary widely by postcode: the North West cleared nine in ten decisions at 91.5%, while Wales approved fewer than one in three at 30.8%.

That gap has far more to do with the local authority than the scheme itself, every property type still cleared at least four in five applications this month. Agents and investors advising developer clients should factor local approval history heavily into any acquisition decision this quarter, using the decided-applications measure rather than the raw share of all submissions.

Commenting on the latest report, Matt Gilpin, our Founder and CEO, says:

"August was not a weak market, it was a choosier one.

Buyers are stretched by inflation and mortgage costs that haven't eased, so they scrutinise every price. Every seller who priced with that in mind converted faster than the rest.

Scotland converted almost three in four new listings. London converted two in five.

Agents who know their patch and can back it with data are going to win more valuation conversations this autumn. Buyers haven't disappeared, they've simply become harder to please, and the first price matters more than the eventual reduction."

The full September 2026 Sales Market Intelligence Report is available now, Sprift customers receive the full report as part of their subscription. If you're not a Sprift customer, you can subscribe to the report below.