Third of sellers have REDUCED their house price this year due to slowdown in property market
Rightmove says sellers are too optimistic about the property market as those reducing asking price reach highest level since 2012
MORE than a third of house sellers have had to slash the asking price on their home, new research from Rightmove has revealed.
Some 37 per cent of properties listed on the website have had their prices reduced compared to when they first went on sale - the highest level since 2012.
Those who have put their house up for sale this month have trimmed the amount they're asking for by £2,392 - (0.8 per cent) compared to October.
But sellers who've had to to reduce their asking price at least once have had to slash it by an average of 6.3 per cent to tempt potential buyer into a deal, it found.
Across England and Wales asking prices were down when compared to October.
Only Yorkshire and the Humber was the only area to see an increase, with the average asking price £180,766 - a 0.6 per cent rise.
The area with the biggest asking price decrease was in the north east, which saw a 5 per cent drop in asking prices to £144,809.
Those in the west midlands, saw a drop in asking prices of 1.4 per cent to £216,665, followed by the east of England (1.3 per cent to £346,106) and the south east (1.1 per cent drop to £410,810).
Last week, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) revealed that house prices are falling in four areas of the country amid a gloomy housing market.
And chancellor Philip Hammond has been urged to axe stamp duty in a bid to improve the housing market for buyers.
Rightmove said while there is usually a drop in prices in the run-up to Christmas, the proportion of slashed prices was a sign some sellers are too optimistic and may have to cut more if they want to get a sale.
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Rightmove director, Miles Shipside, said: "In the run-up the festive season many sellers are trying to tempt distracted buyers to look at their property by dangling the bauble of more attractive pricing given the quieter time of year and more challenging market.
"Many sellers who have been on the market for a while are curbing their initial pricing optimism and are hoping that reducing their property price will result in buyers selecting it as this year's must-have gift."
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