Down they go - nearly 40% of asking prices slashed by...

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25 October 2018

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By Graham Norwood

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Down they go - nearly 40% of asking prices slashed by vendors

Zoopla says 38 per cent of properties on sale have had their asking prices slashed.

That’s a five per cent rise since the portal’s last assessment made in April.

The average cut is 8.5 per cent, equivalent to £26,131.

Zoopla spokesman Lawrence Hall says the shock figures“should be welcome news for prospective first-time buyers looking to get a foot on the property ladder” - although he predicted “further market uncertainty ahead.”

Predictably, the situation was starkest in London where 39.5 per cent of property listings have been reduced in price.

The highest proportion of asking price reductions in the capital was seen in Mitcham - 45 per cent - but the most eye-watering figure produced by the portal was the average drop in the asking prices of home on sale in Kensington and Chelsea, where the average reduction is £127,394.

Things were almost as bad in Westminster where a typical £126,056 has been lopped off asking prices.

Outside London, Brighton had the highest proportion of prices reduced (46 per cent), while Glasgow and Manchester were at the other end of the list with only 19 per cent and 26 per cent respectively.

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- Mitchell Klein
- 25 October 2018 10:21 AM
I wonder when Vendors will realise that some agents over value their home just to get the instruction.
Shame it's been going on for years, as some offices have targets on what they list, as well as what they sell. I still cannot understand why their fee's shouldn’t be cut, after they have said to Mr Smith "Yes I can definitely achieve that price." Maybe then, they will value at a price they think is more realistic.

- Mike Lewis
- 25 October 2018 13:45 PM
Their fees are effectively cut if they sell at a lower price. Also, the longer a property is on the market, the more the agent has to pay in running costs of the business, time spent by staff on servicing the instruction, viewings etc. I don't know of any other profession where you only get paid right at the end when the deal has completed and you cannot even be sure of a fee at all, if the property is withdrawn from the market for instance.