How long has it really been listed?
Before you read anything into a long listing, check how long the home has actually been for sale, and what has happened to the price. The portals show a date, but not always the first one.
On the portals
On Rightmove, each home shows one date: “Added on”, or “Reduced on” once the price has been cut. At the time of writing, a reduced home shows only the date of the cut, not when it first went on. Zoopla’s search results show the date a home was listed and mark it “Reduced” after a cut. Zoopla’s page for the address can also show a timeline of past sales and listings, and the old advert if you sign in.
A recent date doesn’t always mean a new listing. Rightmove stops the same agent taking a home off and putting it back on as new within 14 weeks. But a home can return with a new date after a sale falls through, if it was under offer or sold subject to contract for seven weeks or more, and a change of agent can bring a new date too. In September 2026, Zoopla found that a quarter of newly listed homes had already been for sale earlier that year.
On the Land Registry
HM Land Registry’s free price paid search shows when the home last sold, and for how much, for sales since 1995. A sale that fell through won’t appear, because it never completed.
From the agent
The surest check is to ask. When did it first go on the market, with which agent and at what price? When did the price change? Ask by email, so the answers are in writing.
How long counts as long depends on the area. In July 2026, Zoopla put the national average time to sell at 42 days. In eight of the 363 council areas it tracks, sellers were taking 60 days or longer to find a buyer. Compare the home with others like it for sale nearby, not with a national figure.
How far the asking has moved, and over how long.
A cut tells you the seller has moved, not that the new price is below the comparable sales.
Listed a while, or just cut? Either way, the asking now is the number to check. See it against the sales
Why homes sit
A home can sit for many reasons, and which one applies shapes what you check and what you offer.
A long listing tells you something slowed the sale. It doesn’t tell you what.
These are the common reasons.
| Reason | What it can look like | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| The price | Viewings but no offers, or a run of cuts. | What comparable homes nearby sold for. See what to offer on an overpriced home. |
| Condition | Work needed. Some lenders won’t lend on a home without a working kitchen or bathroom. | A survey and quotes. See offering on a home that needs work. |
| The lease | A short lease or high charges. The shorter the lease, the less likely lenders are to lend. | Years left on the lease, the service charge and the ground rent. |
| The chain | The seller hasn’t found a home, or is waiting on their own buyer. | Where they’re moving, and how far along that is. |
| A sale that fell through | Under offer, then back on the market. | Why: the buyer’s mortgage, their own sale or the survey. |
| A survey finding | A past buyer’s survey found damp, movement or a roof problem. | What was found, and your own survey. |
Price is the reason you can test yourself. Zoopla found in 2025 that homes needing a price cut took 2.4 times as long to sell as homes that didn’t. The others you find out by asking.
What to ask before you offer
The agent works for the seller. The Property Ombudsman’s code for estate agents says their duty of care is to their client. It also says they must treat buyers fairly and that what they tell you must be accurate and not misleading. If they learn something material later, such as a major structural defect, they can’t ignore or suppress it. They may not know everything, so ask, and get the answers in writing.
If you meet the seller at a viewing, ask why they’re moving and when. Keep notes, and pass anything that bears on the home itself to your conveyancer.
What it means for your offer
A long listing or a price cut doesn’t prove a bargain. A reduced price is still the seller’s number, and it can still sit above what comparable homes nearby sold for. Those sales are firmer evidence than any asking price, old or new. Our guide on how much to offer on a house shows where to start.
A price cut tells you the seller has moved. It doesn’t tell you where the sales are.
Don’t assume the seller is desperate, either. One who has already bought may care more about speed than the last few thousand. One who doesn’t need to move may wait for their price. What you learn about their position, not the date on the advert, tells you how much room there may be.
- Decide your walk-away first. Set the most you’ll pay from the sales and your budget, before the first offer. Keep it to yourself.
- Leave room. Open far enough below where you hope to settle that you can move up in small steps.
- Lead with your position. Nothing to sell, a mortgage in principle, a solicitor ready. The agent should find out how you’ll pay and tell the seller.
- Put it in writing. Phone, then email the same offer. Under the code, the agent must tell the seller about every offer, unless the seller has said in writing not to pass on that amount or type, and confirm it in writing to you both within 2 working days.
- Keep the survey condition. Make the offer subject to contract and to a survey. In England an offer isn’t binding until contracts are exchanged, and the price can still be renegotiated if the survey finds a problem. For an older, altered or run-down home, RICS points to its most detailed survey, Level 3.
If the advert now reads “offers over”, see our guide to offers over a guide price before you bid.
Questions
How can I tell how long a house has been on the market?
Ask the agent when it first went on the market, with which agent and at what price. A portal’s date can be the latest price cut or a relisting, not the first listing. Zoopla’s page for the address can also show past listings.
Why has a house been on the market so long?
Common reasons are an asking price above what comparable homes sold for, work needed, a short lease, a chain or a sale that fell through. Ask the agent which applies, and get the answer in writing.
The price has been reduced. Should I offer less?
Start from what comparable homes nearby sold for, not from the cut. A reduced price can still sit above those sales, and if it now sits below them, a low offer is easy to turn down.
How much should I offer on a house that’s been on the market a long time?
There’s no standard discount. Set your offer from the comparable sales and what you learn about the seller’s position. Leave room to move, put it in writing and make it subject to a survey.