Sellers fail to price homes realistically
THE asking price of homes rose by 1% during the past month as new sellers failed to price their properties realistically, figures showed today.
The average property for sale in England and Wales now costs £229,691, following the first increase in asking prices during the four weeks to October 11 for five months.
But property website Rightmove warned that despite the recent “financial mayhem”, many people were failing to price realistically and were tempted to think that their own home was more desirable than others on the market.
But despite the lift in asking prices, house prices have still fallen by 4.9% during the year to mid-October, the biggest drop ever recorded by Rightmove.
The traditional autumn bounce in the market, which usually sees prices rise by around 2%, was also more muted than usual.
Miles Shipside, commercial director at Rightmove, said: “Any potential buyer will drive a hard bargain, so the temptation for sellers to price up and negotiate later may seem like a good idea.”
But he warned that as unemployment rose, leading to a surge in forced sales, prices would be driven down further.
The West Midlands saw the biggest price rise during the month, with the average cost of home there rising by 2.8%, followed by the South-east at 2.6%.
But at the other end of the scale, asking prices in Wales fell by a further 3.3%, while those in the North were 1.1% lower.
All regions of England and Wales have seen price falls during the past year, with Wales seeing the biggest drop at 8%, closely followed by the North-west at 7.3%.
Mr Shipside said lending was likely to remain restricted compared with before the credit crunch, and first-time buyers were likely to continue to need to save larger deposits than previously.
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