Home sellers see asking price expectations drop

Home sellers across England and Wales have seen a decline in the percentage of the asking price achieved over the last six months, according to a new report.

The estate agent comparison site, GetAgent.co.uk, has looked at the original price a property was first listed for sale at, versus the price they achieved upon completion.

The calculation shows that the average home seller has achieved 97.3% of their original asking price between January and June this year.

This is a drop of 2.4% when compared to the previous six months.

‘Remarkable that house prices have stood so firm’

Colby Short, the co-founder and chief executive of GetAgent.co.uk, said: “It’s quite remarkable that house prices have stood so firm considering such a prolonged period of economic angst, however, a notable reduction in homebuyer activity in recent months has finally started to take its toll.

“This is now showing in the form of a reduction in the asking price percentage being achieved by the nation’s sellers, as they are no longer benefitting from the homebuyer feeding frenzy that drove house prices to record highs during the pandemic market boom.”

He added: “At the same time, those who are looking to buy in the current market have had their purchasing power restricted by the increased cost of borrowing and this has also driven a reduction in asking prices.”

Reduction in the percentage of the asking price

The report also reveals that every region of England and Wales has seen a reduction in the percentage of the asking price achieved, with Wales experiencing the largest drop of -3%.

The South West followed with a -2.9% decline, while Yorkshire and the Humber, the North West and the South East all saw a -2.5% fall.

The smallest reduction was seen in London, where home sellers achieved 96.4% of their original asking price over the last six months, a decrease of just -1.6% versus the previous six months.

London was ranked as the second lowest region

However, London also ranked as the second lowest region in terms of the percentage of asking price achieved, with only Wales performing worse at 96%.

The highest percentage of asking price achieved was found in the North East, where home sellers secured an average of 98.1% of their original asking price over the last six months.

This was still -2.4% lower than what they achieved over the previous six months.