Fewer UK properties coming on the market with reduced asking prices
14-05-2012
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The average asking price discount has also fallen, despite the changes to stamp duty land tax in March and £2.9 billion has been knocked off asking prices in total, according to the research from Zoopla.
One third, 34%, of properties currently for sale have been reduced in price since first coming onto the market, down from 37% in February. And the average discount on the original asking price has fallen by more than £500 over the same period. Average asking price reductions now stand at £19,012 or 7.5%.
The drop in proportion and size of asking price discounts has emerged despite the reintroduction of stamp duty for first time buyers and the introduction of the 7% stamp duty tax on properties sold at over £2 million.
‘The changes to the stamp duty rules significantly increased the cost of buying for many and there were concerns this would quash demand and force sellers to make bigger cuts in their asking prices. However, it appears demand has remained strong enough for average discounts to actually fall,’ said Nicholas Leeming of Zoopla.
The total amount knocked off the original asking prices of all properties currently for sale across the country stands at £2.9 billion, with £1.3 billion in reductions in London alone.
Newcastle tops the list of places where the biggest discounts are currently being offered by sellers with average reductions of 11.1% or £22,151. Sellers in Liverpool have also made large concessions, knocking 9.2% or £14,031 off their original asking prices on average.
Rotherham has the highest proportion of discounted properties for sale with 43.9% of sellers having cut their asking prices at least once. Other areas with a high proportion of asking price reductions include Swansea at 42.5% and Barnsley at 41.6%.
‘While sellers in some areas have had to make significant price concessions in order to attract buyers, it’s encouraging to see the overall trend of fewer price reductions and a drop in the size of these reductions,’ added Leeming.
