Almost 3/4 of UK homes not reaching asking prices…

The NAEA has reported that over-ambitious asking prices following October 2014’s Stamp Duty reforms have not been achieved for almost three-quarters of houses sold in January 2015, a 17% rise versus the same period last year, which could be a sign of a slowdown in the property market.

The NAEA’s January housing market report shows that supply was down to 44 properties per member estate agency compared to an average of 47 for 2014 and 45 in December.  However, buyers are re-energising their negotiation skills amidst the reduction in supply and demand.

NAEA member agents experienced that 73% of homes sold below their asking price in January.  Compare this with a year ago when 56% of homes were sold under their marketing price.

Demand fell to a 10-month low, with the average number of applicants on NAEA member records decreasing from 360 to 353 between December and January.

For first-time buyers, 44% of sales were attributed to the 31-40 year-old category, 18-30 year-olds totalled 39%, while buyers over 41 reached 17%.

NAEA figures show that on average in January, 8 houses sold per branch compared with a seasonal low of 5 in December.

Mark Hayward, NAEA Managing Director commented:

“The Autumn Statement’s stamp duty reforms have already created movement. Following this, sellers may have hiked up prices to take advantage of buyers’ increased budgets. “But it seems buyers are counteracting this by negotiating prices back down.”

However this report is not a true reflection of what is going on in the UK property market and at Goldings Auctions, we are certainly bucking the trend.  Our 25 February 2015 sale realised a 100% sale success, with properties on average reaching 15-20% above reserve.  Moreover, our list of registered buyers is growing exponentially with over 8,000 subscribers worldwide.