Property portal Zoopla is reported that around a third of UK sellers have had to reduce the asking prices on their properties in order to secure a sale. The slowing property market has seen asking prices cut by an average of £25,562 – good news for first-time buyers, but bad news for those looking to upgrade.
Stockton-on-Tees saw the biggest average markdown – £13,350, which works out at an average of 8%. Darlington and Bishop Auckland saw markdowns of around £12,285 and £10,573 respectively. London has also been badly hit, with as many as 40% of sellers having to reduce their prices. This is an increase from the 37% we saw in July. With properties in London vastly more expensive than anywhere else in the country, this means enormous markdowns. Kensington and Chelsea saw staggering reductions of £130,000 on average.
Camberley has the largest share of properties discounted – as many as 54% of those up for sale were marked down. Kingston-upon Thames and Richmond also saw markdowns above 50%.
The north of England and Scotland has managed to resist mass discounts. Only 16% of homes in Edinburgh have been marked down, while 19% in Salford and 25% in Manchester have had their prices reduced.
The rise in the number of discounted properties could be attributed to the time of year. December isn’t traditionally a strong month for the property market, as no one wants to move house over the holiday season. There’s speculation that activity could pick up in January – but it’s likely that the market will continue to stagnate, especially in the capital.
RICS (the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) released a report earlier this month stating that lack of demand is causing the housing market to remain fairly subdued. London’s slowing marketing in particular is pulling down the national average. Property value increases continue to slow nationally – in September, the monthly rate fell to 4.8%, before dipping even further to 4.5% in October.
