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Sellers overpricing by up to 13 per cent corrected by market

John Fitzsimons
Written By:
John Fitzsimons
Posted:
Updated:
19/10/2021

Property sellers are overpricing by an average of 13 per cent when listing on portals, according to research.

That’s the conclusion of new research from MoveStreets, which analysed data from the major property portals to establish the current average asking price across each region of Britain, versus what prices properties in those areas are actually selling for.

It found that while the average asking price across the portals currently stands at £296,950, properties are selling at an average of £258,464. That’s a difference of almost £38,500, or 13 per cent.

In some areas, this gap is far more pronounced though. In London for example, the average asking price is a mammoth £833,994, yet properties are selling at an average of £494,673, a disparity of 41 per cent. This is ahead of the large gaps found in the South West – 24 per cent – South East – 23 per cent – and Wales – 21 per cent.

By contrast, the study suggests that the most realistic vendors are found north of the border, with a gap of just four per cent between asking prices and transaction prices in Scotland.

Adam Kamani, CEO of MoveStreets, noted that the high levels of demand from buyers and the low levels of available stock had meant that properties “fly off the shelf at pace and for a very good price”.

However, he pointed out that many vendors were being “over-optimistic” with their asking prices, in an attempt to take advantage of the market boom.

He continued: “This can be detrimental to your sale regardless of how the market is performing and can result in months of little to no interest in your home. It’s the responsibility of the listing agent to guide sellers and set these expectations. While some will value a home at a higher price point to win business, a difference of ten to hundreds of thousand pounds above market value is perhaps a little too far.”

The latest study from Rightmove found that asking prices rose by an average of 1.8 per cent in October, with all regions seeing prices hit a new record high.