Sellers in ‘painful position’ as asking price cuts hit six-year high

The level of discounts to asking prices hit a new high in June as agents continued to struggle to offload stock, data suggests.

According to Home.co.uk, there was a 19% increase in properties with price cuts, with agents listing the highest number of reduced properties since October 2012.

New stock on the market was up 10% annually in June – the highest rate of new instructions since 2011 – while total stock is now up 9.7% annually to the highest level since November 2014 at 522,193 properties.

Overall, the average UK asking price was £310,577.

Typical time on the market fell year-on-year by two days to 80.

Doug Shephard, director of Home.co.uk, said: “Slashing the asking price is often regarded as a last resort for frustrated sellers. On the other hand, what else do you do if you need to sell in a sliding market like London is now?

“Vendors are increasingly in a painful position as their properties linger on the market while comparable new instructions arrive with lower price tags.

“We also expect price cutting to increase. Monthly totals of price-cut properties have already risen by 19%, nearing levels last seen in 2012.

“However, it may be some time before we reach the extent of drastic price slashing last experienced in 2008 when a quarter of the entire stock for sale took a haircut each month.”

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