Brits forced to cut £14,000 off house prices to achieve sale, new data reveals
Brits are being forced to accept an average cut of £14,000 on the price of their homes to achieve a sale, according to new figures from real estate firm Zoopla.
More than four in 10 (41 per cent) homes currently listed for sale on Zoopla have had their asking prices reduced to attract buyers, the website said.
Zoopla said annual house price inflation has slowed to 5.3 per cent, down from 8.6 per cent last year.
“Discounts to asking price have widened and while 4.5 per cent discounts are manageable, if these were to widen further then this would point to a greater likelihood of larger house price falls,” Richard Donnell, executive director at Zoopla said. “We believe the market remains on track for a soft landing in 2023 with modest price falls of up to 5 per cent and one million housing sales.”
However, while some are slashing the asking price for their homes, separate research from Halifax revealed found house prices have made significant gains during the pandemic.
It found house prices have risen by 20.4 per cent over the last three years compared to just 7.8 per cent in the three years prior to the pandemic.
In London, these figures saw the biggest increase, up by £90k for semi-detached homes and £69k for terraced homes.
It comes as the surge in house prices since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic has outpaced wage increases over the same period, making it much less affordable for people, especially first time buyers, to buy a home.
Mortgage providers typically decide whether or not to lend a prospective buyer cash based on whether home prices are above or below a multiple of their income.
People have been priced out of the market due to home prices racing ahead of stagnating wages.
The Bank of England has also kicked interest rates higher ten times in a row to four per cent, a 15-year high, to tame inflation, which is running in the double digits, sending mortgage rates higher.