It wasn’t so long ago that an asking price for property was more than achievable with many buyers ending up in a “sealed bid” scenario to cope with the excess demand for houses.
Recent figures from RICS suggest that the gap between asking price and offer price has reached on average 10%.
Determining what is an “asking price” is a very difficult job in a market with very few properties actually selling. There is a big question mark as to what the market price should be and consequently what the asking price should therefore be set at.
The Sunday Times published a table indicating that some new build property in Central Manchester had already fallen 30%, whereas in other areas in the UK the fall was not yet in double digits. Figures for Greater London from the Land Registry show a significant divergence depending on the Borough.
Some commentators feel we are waiting for a drop to take hold and are waiting for the market to re-adjust and for property to start trading hands again. The headlines of just a few months ago stating “30% drop expected” haven’t yet been played out in most sales.
So sellers and buyers are in no-mans land. Could or should you sell now and take a hit on asking price hoping it will be less of a hit than it could be in a few months time or can you afford to sit it out?
Ultimatley it will depend on individual financial circumstances and necessity. One thing is for sure buyers are hard to come buy, credit even harder.
