"It’s a challenging landscape for sellers at present. Higher mortgage rates have caused buyer numbers to dwindle and this has very much transferred the balance of power from seller to buyer"
- Verona Frankish - Yopa
Sellers across England are continuing to reduce the asking prices for their homes in order to entice buyers in cooler market conditions.
New research by national estate agency, Yopa, analysed the number of homes listed for sale over the last 30 days across the property market in England (Zoopla) and how many of these newly listed homes have already resorted to an asking price reduction in order to secure a buyer.
137 properties per day see price reductions
The research shows that of the 72,452 homes that have been listed for sale across England over the last 30 days, 6% of these properties already seeing a price reduction.
While this may not seem like a significant amount, it equates to over 4,000 homes, meaning that sellers have been reducing their asking price at a rate of 137 properties a day.
These asking price reductions have been most prevalent across the more inflated regions of the market, with both the South East (936) and London (821) seeing 7% of homes listed in the last 30 days reducing in price.
This means that across both regions, homes have been reducing in value at a respective rate of 31 properties and 27 properties a day.
The East of England also ranks within the top three in this respect, where 6% of all properties entering the market in the last 30 days have reduced in price, equating to 19 price-reduced properties per day.
Does a price reduction result in a quicker sale?
The short answer is no, not immediately.
Of the 4,109 homes to have seen a price reduction across England within 30 days of entering the market for sale, just 191 are already sold subject to contract or under offer - meaning buyer demand sits at just 4.6% for homes that are dropping in price right off the bat.
Demand for recently listed and reduced homes is at its highest in the West Midlands, but even then just 6.3% of these properties have gone under offer or sold subject to contract.
CEO of Yopa, Verona Frankish, commented: “It’s a challenging landscape for sellers at present. Higher mortgage rates have caused buyer numbers to dwindle and this has very much transferred the balance of power from seller to buyer.
"The good news is that property values have remained largely unchanged despite wider economic turbulence and so those who are able to secure a buyer are still securing a great price for their property.
"The real issue is the time it’s taking to find a buyer in the first place and this is the driving factor causing many sellers to drop their asking price expectations in an attempt to secure a quicker sale.
"However, as our research shows, this isn’t necessarily the key to success and less than five per cent of sellers who reduce their price within the first 30 days of entering the market are actually finding a buyer.
"Patience is certainly a virtue in the current market and we would advise those looking to sell to hold their nerve and stick it out. Previous research from Rightmove found that properties that are accurately priced according to market conditions find a buyer in less than half the time it takes those who enter at a higher price point and then look to reduce later down the line.”
