Recent research, carried out by Rightmove price index, has shown that newly-marketed property suggests an asking price reduction of 2.3%, around £7,200 drop on the average price of a house.
The statistics also highlight that sales are down by 0.8% when compared with August 2017.
The 2.3% drop is a 0.2% increase from the 2.1% in 2017, further highlighting the stagnant summer market.
Miles Shipside, Rightmove’s market analyst, has said: “Sellers who come to market in the peak holiday month often have a pressing need to sell and price down accordingly, and are offering ‘summer sale’ prices to entice holiday-distracted buyers.
“The market started its most recent cyclical price upturn in 2010, and since then the average price of property coming to market has gone up by 32 per cent, stretching buyer affordability. More substantial discounts are therefore required to tempt warier buyers, with higher house prices also tightening the purse strings of lenders.
“With lacklustre average wage growth, more buyers are bumping up against the tighter lending criteria brought in four years ago following the Mortgage Market Review, which were intended to prevent another boom-and-bust cycle.
“The ‘beast from the east’ weather was a factor in sales agreed numbers being down by 5.4 per cent year-to-date when we reported back in May, but they are on an upward trajectory and are now 3.5 per cent down year-to-date.
“Overall in spite of political uncertainty sales agreed are holding pretty steady and it is usual for there to be an upturn in prices and buyer activity as we head into the Autumn season, especially if sellers maintain their cheaper pricing to attract buyers.
“The key measures affecting the chances of a successful sale all indicate a higher degree of difficulty, so for a seller to increase their odds and beat the average timescales they need to be more pro-active than other sellers. New sellers who are motivated by the 18-week Christmas deadline therefore need to agree a sale to a buyer much more quickly than the average eight weeks that it takes, and perhaps also compress the average 13 weeks between agreeing a sale to a buyer and moving in. That’s a nail-biting total of 21 weeks that they need to try and cut down.”
David Plumtree, Connells Group Estate Agency Chief Executive, says: “Since the start of the summer, we have run sales campaigns across our branch network and have re-launched almost 5,000 properties to the market, all with meaningful price reductions. So far, we have agreed sales on 30% of those properties which goes to show that, despite subdued market conditions and the gloom in the wider economy, there remains decent levels of demand for well – priced stock.
“The truth is there are still good levels of buyers looking to move home and the UK’s love of home ownership is as strong as ever. Our figures show that properties will continue to sell well as long as they are correctly priced and proactively marketed by an estate agent who is prepared to work hard to get results.
“We usually see a flurry of activity as the summer comes to a close and as thoughts turn to getting moved in time for Christmas and starting a new year in a new home. Sellers would do well to get their home on the market now in preparation to take advantage of this upturn in interest.”
Amidst concerns and a wash of pessimistic view concerning the price of property, it is refreshing to have a buyers-market that could encourage more house movement and sales.
For the Rightmove price index, click here.
Has your business suffered because of the slow summer holiday season? Will a price house reduction help to increase the demand for conveyancing services?
