6th
Jul 2023
A property website’s latest figures show that currently 42 per cent of sellers are now feeling it is best to accept offers on their homes of over 5 per cent lower than the asking price and is at its highest level since 2018.
15 per cent are apparently accepting offers of 10 per cent below the asking price.
The portal figures also show there are now 14 per cent less buyers than one year ago whilst there are 18 per cent more properties being put on the market over the last five years’ averages.
House prices have risen by 1.2 per cent in the last twelve months, however annual house prices in the second half of the year are expected to fall 5 per cent by the end of December.
A business analyst Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at a British financial service company commenting on the figures, says: “We could be piling properties high and selling them cheap in the second half of the year, as mortgage misery throws houses into the bargain bucket.
“A huge number of today’s buyers will have locked in a mortgage before rates started to rise through the roof. As a result, sales held up at eight per cent above the five-year average.
“However, demand is already down 14 per cent in a year, and as the impact of mortgage rate hikes feeds though into sales, we can expect this to intensify. A rise from four to six per cent cuts buying power by 20 per cent which is going to take a toll.
“It's also worth keeping a close eye on the number of properties being put up for sale.
“Supply is starting to grow faster, and 18 per cent more homes hit the market in the previous four weeks than the five-year average.
“As borrowers face the horror of remortgaging at a much higher rate, they’re weighing up their options. The government is hoping to stem a flood of forced sales by making it easier for people to make short-term mortgage changes in order to bring monthly costs down. It remains to be seen whether this is enough, or whether higher rates for longer are enough to persuade people they need to downsize.”
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