One in three homes currently on the market has had its asking price lowered at least once, presenting some house hunters with an opportunity to grab a Christmas bargain, according to a property website.

Some 33% of UK properties up for sale have had their price cut by the seller, which is up from 27% in early 2014 and marks the highest share of discounting seen since summer 2012, according to Zoopla.

The average amount being shaved off the asking price is 6.7% or £24,429 in cash terms, up from 6.3% or £20,781 in February 2014.

Zoopla estimates that a total of £3.8 billion has been knocked off the original asking prices of properties currently on the market.

The highest proportion of asking price reductions were found in Lancashire and Yorkshire, with Preston, Barnsley, Wakefield and Rotherham at the top of the list.

Preston was found to have the highest proportion of price reductions in the country, with more than four in 10 (44%) properties having had their asking price lowered since first coming to the market.

House sellers in the South are also having to lower their expectations. The largest discounts currently are to be found in Mitcham in south west London, where sellers have dropped prices by 9.2% on average, equating to a hefty £55,606.

Sellers in Edinburgh are the most confident of achieving their original asking prices, with only 22% of properties for sale having their prices reduced - the lowest proportion across the country.

This is followed by London where only 29% of homes have seen their asking prices lowered from the original price. But in a sign of the cooling London market, this is almost double the proportion recorded in February when only 15% of homes in the capital had seen their asking prices chopped.

Northampton has the smallest average asking price reductions at 5.1% or 13,473 as well as one of the lowest rates of properties with the asking price reduced, at 30.2% of homes currently on the market there.

Several reports have pointed to the housing market entering a calmer phase in the second half of this year after a strong burst of activity in early 2014 on the back of growing consumer confidence and widening access to cheap mortgage deals.

Speculation over interest rate rises, stricter mortgage lending rules - which came into force in April, and buyers baulking at the prices that some sellers are demanding have been suggested as possible reasons behind the change in mood.

But with the Government's complete overhaul of the much-criticised "slab" structure of stamp duty earlier this month, reducing the cost of the levy for the vast majority of those paying it, some experts predict there could be a bounce back in housing market activity in the new year as more people will be encouraged to move home.

Lawrence Hall, spokesman for Zoopla, said: "These figures suggest that sellers may be being forced to reset their expectations and become more realistic in order to secure a buyer.

"People are well attuned to a bargain at this time of year, so home buyers may want to capitalise on the latest raft of reductions.

"The recent stamp duty reforms have injected a real feel-good factor into the property market that is likely to last into January when there will be a renewed surge in buyers looking for property."

Here are the areas with the highest proportion of asking price reductions, with the percentage of homes on the market which have been reduced followed by the typical size of the reduction in percentage and cash terms:

1. Preston 44.2%, 7.5%, £16,309

2. Barnsley, 43.3%, 7.8%, £10,927

=3. Wakefield, 43.1%, 7.4%, £14,909

=3. Rotherham, 43.1%, 7.9%, £11,440

5. Wigan, 42.8%, 6.8%, £10,924

Here are the areas with the largest asking price reductions, with the average reduction in percentage and cash terms followed by the percentage of homes on the market that have been reduced:

1. Mitcham, 9.2%, £55,606, 36.4%

2. Blackburn, 8.8%, £12,981, 41.3%

=3. Newcastle upon Tyne, 8.6%, £18,233, 34.7%

=3. Blackpool, 8.6%, £12,035, 38.3%

5. Durham, 8.5%, £13,635, 37.2%

Here are the areas with the lowest proportion of asking price reductions, with the percentage of homes on the market which have been reduced followed by the typical size of the reduction in percentage and cash terms:

1. Edinburgh, 22.7%, 7.4%, £21,618

2. London, 29.4%, 7.8%, £76,216

3. Coventry, 29.8%, 6.6%, £14,828

4. York, 29.9%, 8.3%, £27,747

5. Northampton, 30.2%, 5.1%, £13,473

Here are the areas with the smallest asking price reductions, with the average reduction in percentage and cash terms followed by the percentage of homes on the market that have been reduced:

1. Northampton, 5.1%, 13,473, 30.2%

2. Bristol, 5.7%, £14,933, 33%

3. Plymouth, 5.9%, £12,390, 37.7%

=4. Warrington, 6.1%, £14,407, 37.7%

=4. Leeds, 6.1%, £12,766, 33.8%