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Third of all asking prices have been lowered, says online agent

Zoopla data points to a buyers' market despite a lack of stock.

Nigel Lewis

Online agent HouseSimple reckons a third of properties for sale in the UK have had their asking prices reduced since they were first marketed, based on listing data is obtained from Zoopla.

The agent looked at 100 large towns and cities across the UK and found that in eight the percentage of homes reduced was in excess of 40%. All are in the north or Scotland and include Stockton-On-Tees, Aberdeen, Halifax, Middlesbrough, Blackburn, Rotherham and Darlington.

Only one city in the south experienced asking price drops in excess of the 31.3% average – Oxford – where HouseSimple says 36.8% of homes for sale have had their price lowered.

Of the three largest cities in the UK, London has the highest percentage of properties currently being marketed (30%) that have had a price reduction since they were initially listed. This compares with 27.6% in Birmingham and 19.9% in Manchester.

HouseSimple says this “suggests that estate agents in the Capital are finding it harder to secure a sale and are having to drop asking prices to attract buyers”.

Alex Gosling image“Price reductions can indicate that there are too many sellers and not enough buyers, but actually there has been a lack of stock coming onto the market and plenty of buyers looking,” says Alex Gosling, CEO of HouseSimple.com (pictured, left).

“That would suggest that sellers are in the driving seat and wouldn’t need to drop their asking price to secure an offer. But with all the economic uncertainty, particularly around Brexit, buyers are being more cautious about purchasing, spending more time viewing multiple properties before making a decision.”

February 8, 2017

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