Property market slowdown worst at top of market, says Rightmove
Four and five bedroom houses taking longer to shift as sales soften across the UK.
The largest houses are taking the longest to find buyers as the property market slowdown continues, it has been revealed.
Rightmove’s monthly house price index reveals that across the UK properties with five bedrooms and detached four-bedroom houses are taking 76 days to sell, while in London it’s 86 days.
The average time to sell across the UK for all properties is 63 days, the portal says.
Property market slowdown
Rightmove believes the slowdown at the “top of the ladder” is helping soften the sales market overall. In London the number of sales agreed compared to same period a year ago is down by 9%, while southern counties have experienced a dip of 7.8%.
The north has fared better, Rightmove says, with a dip of just 3%.
But these are only year-on-year figures – better than expected sales across the UK earlier this year means sales so far this year are ahead of 2016.
“Sales agreed numbers are holding up better in the north, whilst a common factor throughout the country is the lower and middle market sectors being the most active,” says Rightmove director Miles Shipside (pictured, left)
“However, where property prices have far outstripped buyers’ wages, and consequently their affordability, sellers will either have to be more tempting with their asking prices or outscore other properties with extra desirable features.”
But one curious aspect of the company’s index is that, despite houses taking longer to sell and the number of homes sold dropping, asking prices increased during October by 1.1% and are rising 1.4% year-on-year.
But Russell Quirk, CEO of online ageny eMoov (pictured, right), is sceptical of the Rightmove figures.
“Of course, it goes without saying that those with a “top of the ladder” property will find it harder to sell as these properties take a bit more time whatever the market conditions,” he says.
“With the UK market showing positive signs of a recovery over the last few months it is unlikely the average UK seller will struggle as we approach one of the busiest periods in the UK property market calendar.
“I certainly don’t think there are more sellers chasing fewer buyers as the level of housing stock or lack thereof, continues to be the driving factor behind UK price growth. There are many pockets of the UK outside of the top-end market in London and the South East that are still seeing an imbalance between the level of buyer demand to houses available.”
Read more stories about Rightmove.
