Almost Three-Quarters Of UK November Property Sales ‘Below Asking Price’
The vast majority of sellers had to discount their property to secure a sale in November, while rising rents are no longer the norm, according to research from an industry body.
Almost three-quarters (72%) of property sales agreed in the UK were below the asking price last month, the report from NAEA Propertymark, a membership organisation for estate agents, said.
In further evidence that the housing market has slowed sharply, competition has dropped by more than a third, from a high of 11 new buyers to every new property instructed in a member branch, to only seven.
This is in stark contrast to the booming market seen as recently as the summer when buyers were caught in bidding wars.
Nathan Emerson, the chief executive of Propertymark, said: “The sales market is firmly back in the hands of buyers who have been on the back foot for 18 months.
“More property is available but the competition between those looking has cooled substantially.
“For those motivated to sell, good, solid buyers are still prominent.
“As for lettings, we are starting to see a decrease in demand; the knock-on effect is that fewer agents are seeing rent rises.
It’s possible that prices have peaked, and landlords are well aware that any more rises won’t necessarily be achieved.”