Record number of homes sold below asking price, says Hamptons

A record 50% of homes were sold below the asking price last year, and ‘a raft’ of further reductions are likely this month, Hamptons says.

The figures for England and Wales were up from 32% in 2022, with a peak in October when 54.6% of properties went for less than the original price.

And of the homes sold following a price reduction, the average buyer negotiated an extra 1.4% discount from the final amount, the London agency reports.

Further price cuts

January is likely to see a raft of reductions as homes that didn’t sell in 2023 see their asking prices cut to attract a buyer.

Last month, the average home that sold for a reduced amount had already been on the market for 75 days, up from 64 in November.

However, as affordability conditions improve and demand strengthens, fewer sellers will likely need to adjust their expectations in future months, Hamptons predicts.

Longer to sell

It took longer to sell a home in Great Britain last year than during any of the last 10 years. With an average of 56 days between a home coming onto the market and it going under offer, sellers had to wait 22 days longer to find a buyer than in 2022.

2023 will go down as a subdued year for the housing market”.

Aneisha Beveridge, head of research at Hamptons, says: “2023 will go down as a subdued year for the housing market.

“The cost of living squeeze coupled with yo-yoing mortgage rates created an air of uncertainty and meant that households chose to sit tight rather than move.”

But a crash didn’t materialise, she says, with price falls limited a maximum of 5%.

“In line with our forecast, it’s likely we’ll end the year [2023] with around 1m homes changing hands across Great Britain, 19% or 230k fewer than in 2022,” she says.

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