New data reveals Merseyside sellers are resisting price cuts at a rate that leaves the rest of England trailing
While property markets across southern England buckle under the weight of falling asking prices, Merseyside is holding firm, and the brokers working its streets say the reasons run deeper than raw data.
Research published by Lyons Bowe Solicitors, based on a snapshot of Zoopla listings, found just 27.2% of properties in Merseyside had undergone a price reduction – the lowest proportion of any county in England. Nationally, the figure stands at 40.6%. The North West as a whole recorded the smallest share of reduced listings of any English region, at 32.4%, with Greater Manchester close behind at 33.1%.
For Tom Wright (pictured top left), director at Liverpool Mortgages, the numbers reflect something he sees daily.
"Liverpool's always been within the top 10 strongest regions for property value growth," he told Mortgage Introducer. "Our house values are very low. Our rents are high in comparison to that. It's quite hard to make a loss in Liverpool."
What makes the market so difficult to shake?
Wright points to a combination of structural advantages that has insulated Merseyside from the volatility seen elsewhere. As a major port city with deep international trade connections and strong links to Ireland and global tourism networks, Liverpool draws sustained demand from multiple directions – residential, private rental, social housing, and short-term lets.
"Just about every plate that could be spun in this city is being spun to great effect," he said. "Tourism, council, social housing, private individuals, private investors – every single aspect of the property market seems to be doing well."
That breadth of demand also creates resilience at the lending level. Wright describes a buy-to-let environment where borrowers can typically secure 75% to 80% loan-to-value against strong rental coverage – something brokers covering the latest buy-to-let mortgage market analysis and guidance will recognise as increasingly rare in the current rate environment. Similar transactions in London often top out at 50% because rental yields cannot adequately support the debt.
"If we're being quite cutthroat, which a lot of investors are, and looking at it as a financial transaction, the numbers don't add up in London," he said. "It doesn't make sense to put your money into London properties."
Jennifer Highton (pictured top right), director at The Mortgage Lady UK, works with clients across Merseyside, including Liverpool, Wigan, Runcorn, and the Wirral. She told Mortgage Introducer the mid-range bracket – where most first-time buyers and buy-to-let clients sit – is where the resilience is most visible.
"Demand genuinely outpaces supply, especially in the mid-range bracket," she said. "Sellers aren't desperate to discount. The buyers are there. Add to that the continued regeneration around the waterfront and beyond, and you have an area where confidence hasn't evaporated the way it has elsewhere."
How does the north/south divide change the conversation?
The contrast in market sentiment between north and south is filtering directly into broker conversations. Highton said the regional dynamic is giving Merseyside buyers a degree of confidence that clients elsewhere simply do not have.
"Down south, clients seem to be holding back, waiting to see if prices drop further," she said. "Up here, I'm having the opposite conversation. People are more willing to act because they trust the market isn't going to fall away beneath them."
For remortgage clients in particular, that stability translates into a practical advantage. Properties holding their value keep loan-to-value ratios in a healthier place, which gives brokers a broader range of lenders to work with across the North West than clients in softer markets can access.
The data from Lyons Bowe, cited in a BuyAssociation Group report, shows this is not simply sentiment. At county level, the contrast with the South East is stark – 43.4% of properties listed there had been reduced, alongside 42% in London and 41.9% in the east of England. In Norfolk, the figure approaches half of all listed stock at 48.2%.
Investors heading north – with caveats
The shift of buy-to-let investment away from London and the South East is accelerating. Highton confirmed enquiries from investors outside the region have picked up noticeably, with portfolio landlords – some holding between 10 and 100 properties – actively expanding into Merseyside precisely because yields stack up in ways London cannot replicate.
Brokers advising these clients are working within the Prudential Regulation Authority's (PRA) portfolio landlord rules, which require lenders to assess the entire background portfolio rather than just the individual purchase, making whole-of-market access a material advantage. The latest UK mortgage market updates reflect how lenders are responding to that portfolio complexity across the country.
Wright, too, has watched outside capital flow into Liverpool, but he is candid about the tension that brings.
"It's a double-edged sword," he said. "We're soaking up a lot of money that would have otherwise been spent in other cities. But it does make us wonder what the future looks like for Liverpool. If all this outside money is being spent here, are we potentially getting landlords that are a little cold and a little distant in a city that prides itself on socialist values and people before profit?"
He remains conscious of the character he wants to preserve. "Long-term, we don't want the market to be cold, and we don't want it to be profit before people," he said. "There's still mom-and-pop landlords who are buying properties and sending Christmas cards to the tenants every year. They know the tenants' names, they know the tenants' birthdays. That is how it works. It doesn't work when you're cold and distant."
For Highton, genuine resilience comes down to whether transactions actually complete, not just whether prices hold. "What I'd call genuine resilience is when buyers can still get lending approved at realistic valuations, sellers aren't having to drop significantly between offer and completion, and the pipeline keeps moving even when rates are high," she said. "On that measure, Merseyside is holding up well. We're seeing fewer fall-throughs and valuations are largely coming in where we'd expect. The fundamentals here are solid enough that deals are getting done."
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