Homeowners in the 10 St Albans postcodes reduced their asking prices by an average of £17,223 (2.74 per cent) over the last 12 months.

The biggest reductions were in upmarket AL9, which covers Brookmans Park, Essendon and parts of Hatfield, where prices fell by an average of £34,210 (4.2 per cent).

Herts Advertiser: The AL9 postcode, which includes Brookmans Park, saw the biggest reductions.The AL9 postcode, which includes Brookmans Park, saw the biggest reductions. (Image: Archant/Danny Loo)

This was followed by Harpenden's AL5 postcode, which saw reductions of £26,119 (3.14 per cent), Welwyn Garden City's AL8, where the average dip was £19,575 (3.23 per cent) and St Albans' AL3 where prices typically fell by £18,617 (2.78 per cent).

House buying firm Property Solvers tracked 666 transactions across AL postcodes between July 2020 and July 2021, comparing the asking price from Rightmove against the eventual sold price lodged at the Land Registry.

The lowest hits on price during this period were seen in Welwyn Garden City's AL7 postcode, which saw an average drop of just £6,315 (1.7 per cent).

Herts Advertiser: Welwyn Garden City's AL7 saw reductions of just 1.7 per cent.Welwyn Garden City's AL7 saw reductions of just 1.7 per cent. (Image: ©2019 Archant)

The smallest reduction as a percentage of price was in St Albans' AL4 however, with the £9,819 fall equating to a cut of 1.6 per cent.

Herts Advertiser: St Albans' AL4 postcode saw some of the smallest reductions. Picture: Google Streetview.St Albans' AL4 postcode saw some of the smallest reductions. Picture: Google Streetview. (Image: Archant)

Ruban Selvanayagam of Property Solvers said: “Despite what has been a very active market, homebuyers are still, by and large, able to negotiate down on prices.

"It’s relative as a more expensive property is likely to see a wider price difference. Nonetheless, when buying, it's worth checking how much prices are being reduced in your area using our tool.

“For sellers, before listing, we always suggest looking at the widely available free data from HM Land Registry which tracks the prices properties are sold for and not what they are advertised for. On Rightmove, for example, you can often see previous listings to see how yours compares.”