Website claims 33% of homes on market have been discounted in sign of cooling market and more realistic sellers
A third of homeowners trying to sell have cut their asking
prices since putting their homes on the market, according to the
property website Zoopla, as the slowdown in the housing market forces
sellers to be more realistic about their expectations.
The website found that 33% of properties listed as for sale had been discounted at least once, the highest proportion since August 2012. The average price reduction is 6.7% of the original asking price, or £24,429.
Renewed confidence in the economy combined with low mortgage rates and a government scheme to boost homebuying had all buoyed the housing market in the first half of the year, with price growth returning to many parts of the country.
However, affordability constraints have set in in London and the south-east and with the traditional winter lull the market seems to have has started to cool.
Zoopla said sellers in Preston were most likely to have adjusted their prices downwards, with 44% making cuts, closely followed by Barnsley, Wakefield and Rotherham, where 43% of homes on the market had been reduced.
In Preston, the average price cut was 7.5%, or £16,309.
Sellers in Edinburgh appeared to have the most faith in their original asking price, with 22% of properties reduced since coming on to the market.
In London, where a scramble for homes led to buyers in some areas making sealed bids above the asking price earlier in the year, 29% of prices have been discounted. In February when Zoopla last looked at data on sellers’ behaviour, the figure was 15%.
The biggest discounts have been made by sellers in Mitcham, south London, where prices have been slashed by an average of 9.2%, or £55,606, while the smallest cuts have been in Northampton where the 30% of sellers reducing their asking prices have done so by an average of 5.1%, or £13,473.
Lawrence Hall of Zoopla said: “The property market typically slows in December as buyers postpone their plans until the New Year and become preoccupied with the festive season, but these figures suggest that sellers may be being forced to become more realistic in order to secure a buyer.
“People are well attuned to a bargain at this time of year, so homebuyers may want to capitalise on the latest raft of reductions.”
Among the properties listed on the website with discounts of 50% are a two-bedroom penthouse flat in Manchester which is now up for sale at offers over £1m, and a three-bedroom home in London’s Docklands being sold for £1.375m.
On Monday, the rival website Rightmove said new sellers coming to the market in December were asking 3.3% less for their homes than those who put up the for sale signs in November, and that those in London were asking 5.1% less.
The website found that 33% of properties listed as for sale had been discounted at least once, the highest proportion since August 2012. The average price reduction is 6.7% of the original asking price, or £24,429.
Renewed confidence in the economy combined with low mortgage rates and a government scheme to boost homebuying had all buoyed the housing market in the first half of the year, with price growth returning to many parts of the country.
However, affordability constraints have set in in London and the south-east and with the traditional winter lull the market seems to have has started to cool.
Zoopla said sellers in Preston were most likely to have adjusted their prices downwards, with 44% making cuts, closely followed by Barnsley, Wakefield and Rotherham, where 43% of homes on the market had been reduced.
In Preston, the average price cut was 7.5%, or £16,309.
Sellers in Edinburgh appeared to have the most faith in their original asking price, with 22% of properties reduced since coming on to the market.
In London, where a scramble for homes led to buyers in some areas making sealed bids above the asking price earlier in the year, 29% of prices have been discounted. In February when Zoopla last looked at data on sellers’ behaviour, the figure was 15%.
The biggest discounts have been made by sellers in Mitcham, south London, where prices have been slashed by an average of 9.2%, or £55,606, while the smallest cuts have been in Northampton where the 30% of sellers reducing their asking prices have done so by an average of 5.1%, or £13,473.
Lawrence Hall of Zoopla said: “The property market typically slows in December as buyers postpone their plans until the New Year and become preoccupied with the festive season, but these figures suggest that sellers may be being forced to become more realistic in order to secure a buyer.
“People are well attuned to a bargain at this time of year, so homebuyers may want to capitalise on the latest raft of reductions.”
Among the properties listed on the website with discounts of 50% are a two-bedroom penthouse flat in Manchester which is now up for sale at offers over £1m, and a three-bedroom home in London’s Docklands being sold for £1.375m.
On Monday, the rival website Rightmove said new sellers coming to the market in December were asking 3.3% less for their homes than those who put up the for sale signs in November, and that those in London were asking 5.1% less.
Zoopla said sellers in Preston were most likely to have
adjusted their prices downwards, with 44% making cuts, closely followed
by Barnsley, Wakefield and Rotherham, where 43% of homes on the market
had been reduced.
In Preston, the average price cut was 7.5%, or £16,309.
Sellers in Edinburgh appeared to have the most faith in their original asking price, with 22% of properties reduced since coming on to the market.
In London, where a scramble for homes led to buyers in some areas making sealed bids above the asking price earlier in the year, 29% of prices have been discounted. In February when Zoopla last looked at data on sellers’ behaviour, the figure was 15%.
The biggest discounts have been made by sellers in Mitcham, south London, where prices have been slashed by an average of 9.2%, or £55,606, while the smallest cuts have been in Northampton where the 30% of sellers reducing their asking prices have done so by an average of 5.1%, or £13,473.
Lawrence Hall of Zoopla said: “The property market typically slows in December as buyers postpone their plans until the New Year and become preoccupied with the festive season, but these figures suggest that sellers may be being forced to become more realistic in order to secure a buyer.
“People are well attuned to a bargain at this time of year, so homebuyers may want to capitalise on the latest raft of reductions.”
Among the properties listed on the website with discounts of 50% are a two-bedroom penthouse flat in Manchester which is now up for sale at offers over £1m, and a three-bedroom home in London’s Docklands being sold for £1.375m.
On Monday, the rival website Rightmove said new sellers coming to the market in December were asking 3.3% less for their homes than those who put up the for sale signs in November, and that those in London were asking 5.1% less.
Sellers in Edinburgh appeared to have the most faith in their original asking price, with 22% of properties reduced since coming on to the market.
In London, where a scramble for homes led to buyers in some areas making sealed bids above the asking price earlier in the year, 29% of prices have been discounted. In February when Zoopla last looked at data on sellers’ behaviour, the figure was 15%.
The biggest discounts have been made by sellers in Mitcham, south London, where prices have been slashed by an average of 9.2%, or £55,606, while the smallest cuts have been in Northampton where the 30% of sellers reducing their asking prices have done so by an average of 5.1%, or £13,473.
Lawrence Hall of Zoopla said: “The property market typically slows in December as buyers postpone their plans until the New Year and become preoccupied with the festive season, but these figures suggest that sellers may be being forced to become more realistic in order to secure a buyer.
“People are well attuned to a bargain at this time of year, so homebuyers may want to capitalise on the latest raft of reductions.”
Among the properties listed on the website with discounts of 50% are a two-bedroom penthouse flat in Manchester which is now up for sale at offers over £1m, and a three-bedroom home in London’s Docklands being sold for £1.375m.
On Monday, the rival website Rightmove said new sellers coming to the market in December were asking 3.3% less for their homes than those who put up the for sale signs in November, and that those in London were asking 5.1% less.
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/dec/17/1-in-3-sellers-cut-property-asking-prices-zoopla#start-of-comments
Excellent Article! Thanks for sharing this post. I think that Price and condition make a big difference, but other factors can also slow your home sale. It is nice post.
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