The gap between the asking price of homes and what they eventually sold for significantly widened last year as cautious buyers negotiate harder, according to new data.
The selling price for homes was, on average, 3.9 per cent below the asking price in the first three months of 2019, up from 3.3 per cent in the same period last year, according to Zoopla‘s latest Cities House Price Index.
The online property firm said this is substantially higher in London where the selling price was on average 5.7 per cent below the original asking price. Houses were sold at lower prices due to “weaker market conditions” and “harder negotiations” from cautious buyers, according to Zoopla.
The pattern was not universal, however, with Edinburgh and Glasgow both reporting average selling prices above the original asking prices, as demand for housing stock continues to rise.