Uncategorized
Sellers demand more money for their homes
New London property sellers increased their asking prices by 5% in October hoping to capitalise as buyers returned to the market, after the summer lull.
According to property website Rightmove, average asking prices for residential property in England and Wales rose 3%.
“This is a normal reaction to the start of the autumn selling season after the summer holiday period. New sellers and their estate agents have an inbuilt instinct to increase prices every October – which has happened in London every year since 2002,” said Miles Shipside, director of Rightmove.
The website warned sellers that increasing their asking prices was not the way forward in the current market where there is a shortage of buyers.
Shipside added: “Given the challenges of the current market, the behaviour of sellers in raising their average asking prices by over £7,000 takes some explaining.”
The latest rise takes the average price of a home listed on Rightmove to £236,849, up from £229,767.
However, Rightmove echoed other reports which suggest that housing market activity will slow due to uncertainty surrounding the economy, as the Government unveils its Comprehensive Spending Review later this week.
Meanwhile, Rightmove said estate agents now had an average of 78 properties on their books – with approximately 11% more properties going on the market each week compared to October last year.