Thousands of vendors still think the housing market is in a pandemic boom, an agent has warned.

It comes as data from Zoopla found that 44% of all homes listed for sale in Britain failed to find a buyer in the past three years.

Josh Endacott, an estate agent from London company 1st Avenue, (pictured) said one of the main causes of this slowdown is pricing.

He suggests sellers are still pricing as if it were 2022 or 2021, when demand was at its absolute peak, and buyers were competing fiercely for every available property.

Buyer’s market

But there is now a boom in supply, with Rightmove figures showing the number of homes available for sale across Britain has reached its highest level since 2014.

This has given buyers more negotiating power and leaving overpriced homes easier to ignore. Endacoot warns that thousands of homeowners risk pricing themselves out of the market with unrealistic asking prices.

Endacott says:  “The first four weeks of any listing are absolutely critical. It’s when buyer interest is at its highest and when the most serious purchasers are actively comparing properties.

“If your price is out of step with the market during that window, you lose those buyers, and you are unlikely to get them back.”

Sales stigma

He warns that sellers also risk creating a stigma around their property if it remains unsold for too long.

Endacott adds: “What makes this particularly damaging is the stigma that builds around a property that has been sitting on the market for months. Buyers start to wonder what is wrong with it, why nobody else has made an offer.”

Sellers making the same mistake repeatedly.

He highlights that many homeowners are making the mistake of basing their asking price on what they need for their next purchase or what similar properties sold for during the peak of the market, rather than what current buyer demand can support.

Endacott says: “We see sellers making the same mistake repeatedly. People base their asking price on what they need for their next move, or on what a neighbour got three years ago, rather than what the current market will actually support.

“That kind of thinking costs them time, money, and enormous amounts of stress.

“Our advice is always to go to market at the right price from day one. A well-priced home will generate more viewings, more offers, and ultimately a better result than a home that is gradually reduced over weeks and months.”