Average sale price was 4% below asking in pre-Boris bounce period

Sellers in the past 12 months accepted an average of 96 per cent of their asking price according to new research.

Comparison website GetAgent has analysed data from major portals and cross-referenced this with HM Land Registry data for 12 months up to recent weeks - so ahead of both the Boris Bounce which led to a surge of interest in the market.

The research shows that across the UK as a whole, the nation’s home sellers were forced to accept 96 per cent, with many areas seeing far larger reductions. 

Copeland ranks as the worst place to have sold in the UK with sellers achieving just 72.7 per cent of asking price; Pendle was on 74.0 per cent, Pembrokeshire on 74.3 per cent and Burnley on 75.1 per cent are also amongst the worst performers.

In London, the City of London sits bottom with just 78.9 per cent of asking price achieved along with Camden on 81.9 per cent and Westminster 84.8 per cent. 

“A very tough year for the UK property market was always going to bring an underachievement where sold price to asking price performance was concerned and the extent of the damage caused by an uncertain Brexit backdrop is very clear in a large number of areas” says Colby Short, chief executive of GetAgent.

There were of course many areas that exceeded the average too - by some large margins.

In Preston, where home sellers achieved an average sold price of £214,325, this was 121 per cent of the average asking price.

Kingston Upon Hull was also home to an average sold price of some 120.9 per cent, with Sheffield on 120.4 per cent, Southampton on 119.3 per cent, Barking and Dagenham on 111.3 per cent and Northampton at 110.9 per cent.

Within the capital and in addition to Barking and Newham, Haringey, Islington, Hammersmith and Fulham, Tower Hamlets, Ealing, Hillingdon, Brent, Bexley, Sutton, Lewisham and Waltham Forest all saw the average sold price exceed the average asking price.  

Colby Short adds: “Not only does this demonstrate the resilience of the market but it shows that in areas where marginal top-line price declines amounted to very little on the average house price, a realistic business as usual attitude from both buyers and sellers kept things moving and in many cases ensured sellers exceeded their asking price expectations.”