Over a third of UK home sellers forced to cut asking price
13 Nov 2017
Over a third of UK home owners trying to sell their house are being forced to cut their asking price, with the number of price cuts at their highest level since 2012, according to property website, Rightmove.
House sellers have traditionally been forced to cut their asking prices in the pre-Christmas period but this year the UK appears to be holding a collective autumn sale, according to the property website.
According to Rightmove, which claims to list 90 per cent of the houses being sold in the UK, 37 per cent of current sellers had dropped their asking price, with a typical 0.8 per cent or £2,392 price reduction. It further warned that those who recently put their property on the market were being too optimistic by not discounting by more.
According to commentators, the mass price cut will be seen as further evidence of the market having slowed dramatically, particularly in London where prices have been falling. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors last week said the overall UK property market had stalled. The institution further warned that it expected the market to remain subdued in the coming months as sales stay flat or fall in most regions.
According to Rightmove director, Miles Shipside, the slowdown in the housing market, the recent interest rate rise and the prediction that further increases were on the horizon suggested bigger reductions in house prices in the near future.
According to Rightmove, this showed an ''initial over-optimism and a tougher market'' and warned sellers to be wary of pricing homes too high since buyers had also be tested by the interest rate rise.
However, it went on to point out that for vendors keen to sell, there was an opportunity for buyers to negotiate a good deal.
The Telegraph quoted Shipside saying, ''In the run-up to the festive season, many sellers are trying to tempt distracted buyers to look at their property by dangling the bauble of more attractive pricing, given the quieter time of year and more difficult market.''