A Million Homes For Sale
There are a record one million homes for sale in England and Wales, with estate agents having record numbers on their books. It looks like a buyers’ market, but buyers might decide to wait for further reduced prices.
The number of homes for sale has reached a landmark figure of one million in England and Wales, according to a report from property website Rightmove.
The number of sellers continues to grow, but there is little sign that the number of buyers is going to increase soon. Sellers are putting their properties onto the market, hoping to make a sale before prices drop even further, whereas buyers are biding their time, asking themselves why they should buy this month when the price is likely to be lower next month.
Average asking prices have fallen by £3,000 in the last month – that’s 1.2%. In some places falls are worse than others, For example, in Hounslow, West London, prices fell by almost £20,000.
Rightmove said that between 11 May and 14 June a further 172,000 homes were put onto the market. Estate agents now have an average of 75 homes each on their books – this is a record too.
If ever there was a buyers’ market, then this must be it. For every buyer there are 15 properties for sale. But then, buyers are wondering why pay today’s prices when tomorrow’s will be cheaper. In addition, of course, the raw economics of the country today mean that buyers cannot afford to pay high prices for property, strapped as they are for cash as a result of rising food, fuel, energy and mortgage prices, as the credit crunch continues to have an impact.
June has traditionally been a month when asking prices have risen, and this is the first fall in the month, following a rise in asking prices in May. Sellers, it seems, are finally accepting that the value of their homes has really come down.
Rightmove confirmed that sales are still being made, and there is still demand for property at the right price. Property has to either stand out above the competition as special or as a bargain.
The south of the country had the biggest price falls, as average asking prices dropped by 2.4% in the South East and 2.2% in the South West during the month.
