Vendors are lowering their price expectations, which will come as little surprise to agents as it is the the norm for new seller asking prices to fall at this time of year.
The average price of property coming to market has fallen by 0.6%, or £2,044, this month, according to newly released data from Rightmove.
Market activity remains strong across many parts of the UK, but is likely to slow in the coming weeks as Christmas nears.
However, activity is expected to pick-up once Christmas is out of the way, with some estate agents reporting that many homeowners are already getting their homes spruced up for the New Year.
Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s director of property data, commented: “Despite the soaring property market and consequent shortage of choice of homes for sale for prospective buyers, new sellers have given buyers an early Christmas present by dropping their average asking prices by 0.6%.
“Sellers who come to market this close to the distractions of Christmas often have a pressing reason to sell, so naturally price more attractively to grab the attention of prospective buyers who may be otherwise occupied. We expect this downward price trend to be relatively short-lived, though sellers who are in a hurry will continue to need to attract buyers for most of December as well.
“As soon as Christmas Day is out of the way, there’s a boom in people searching for property on Boxing Day, perhaps with time available during the holiday season and a resolve to enjoy their next Christmas in new surroundings. That is likely to push prices higher again, and increase the competition from other buyers.
“Some of those additional buyers will also be new sellers who have held back from launching their property to market until this Boxing Day buyer boom, judging it to be a good time to sell and to move in 2022.”
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