Asking Price And Sale Price Gap Shrinking In UK

There are many factors to consider in the property market but in recent times, the gap between asking price and sale price has been a crucial factor for many people. Many sellers have been left disappointed with an asking price that failed to materialise and some property specialists have suggested this has been a strong factor in the dip of property being supplied to the market. If property owners believe that selling their home will not bring a sufficient or satisfactory return, they will be more likely to decide against entering the market.

In their year-end review of the property market, NAEA Propertymark stated that homes sold for less than their initial asking price 77% of the time. The organisation also said that only 4% of property sold for more than it’s initial asking price. This information correlated with findings from Zoopla dating to December of 2017 which stated that that the volume of properties selling for less than the initial asking price was increasing.

Rightmove suggests that more homes are selling for sales price

However, information provided by Rightmove in spring of 2018 suggest that an upturn has occurred with respect to sales prices and asking prices. The volume of property sold for the asking price has reached the highest level since June of 2016. Mind you, given that Rightmove said that 74% of homes still sold for less than the initial asking price for February of 2018, it may not be a cause for too much optimism just yet.

It is the percentage of properties that were sold for exactly the asking price that was the important figure though and this was classed as 22%. This would be higher than the percentage suggested by NAEA Propertymark for the whole of 2017 and it is the highest recorded figure in close to two years.

asking price

With asking prices also rising by 1.5%, which is the biggest increase for March since 2007, there is a cautious mood of optimism surrounding certain issues of the property market.

Are stamp duty changes impacting on property market and asking price?

While there are many factors influencing the property market, it appears stamp duty relief changes are having an impact on first-time buyers. In information provided by the NAEA, the January 2018 proportion of first-time buyers in the full market stood at 27% while in February of 2018, this had risen to 29%.

There are also factors that may not come across as optimistic from NAEA. The volume of property-hunters who registered at estate agents in the UK fell by 16% from January to February and by 28% from February 2017 to February 2018. As of the end of February 2018, the number of registered buyers per branch was 309. There was also a dip in the volume of properties for sale with each branch having 35 properties compared to a level of 36 each branch as of January 2018.

The ever-evolving nature of the UK property market can be difficult to stay in touch with. If you want to be confident that you are fully informed as to what is taking place in the property market, be sure to stay in touch with Williams of Petersfield. We are specialists in the local property market and no matter what change or move you may want to make, we are here to help.

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