London sellers failing to acknowledge the property market has ‘begun rebalancing’

Desperate London home sellers have been accepting average discounts of as much as £25k on asking prices as the property market has seized up.

According to the latest reading from Zoopla, desperate London home sellers have been accepting average discounts of as much as £25k on asking prices as the property market has seized up.

Although house prices declined two per cent year-on-year in November, the capital has remained the most expensive area in the UK to buy, with an average property price of £537k recorded on Zoopla’s platform.

However, Zoopla’s analysts said the average value of a London home is also just eight per cent higher than seven years ago in nominal terms, whereas UK house prices are 28 per cent higher.

“Better value for money and a steady return to office working is supporting sale volumes and pricing levels in London,” Zoopla said.

Buyer demand has fallen across the country, with demand now 13 per cent lower than it was pre-pandemic, although it has recovered from September last year following the mini-budget disaster.

Zoopla said while there are fewer buyers in the market, new sales are still being agreed, tracking 15 per cent higher than a year ago and five per cent higher than 2019 levels.”

“This indicates greater realism on the part of sellers and a growing sense that mortgage rates may have peaked and could start to fall later in 2024.”

Still, Nigel Bishop of buying agency Recoco Property Search cautions: “Many sellers are still basing their asking price on the influx of buyer demand seen during the pandemic but fail to acknowledge that the market has begun rebalancing since.

“It is very much a buyer’s market right now and house hunters are more determined to negotiate the asking price or continue their search otherwise.

“That being said, the volume of any price reduction is subject to the property location and overall value. Properties that are located in sought-after areas tend to hold their value with the majority of sellers insisting on achieving their asking price.”

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