Almost half of homes fail to sell with high prices blamed

consumer affairs Editor

NEARLY half of all homes for sale on the property market are failing to sell, data shows.

A study by Homeowners Alliance (HOA) found 45 per cent of properties were either taken off the market by the seller or simply remained listed. Only 55 per cent over the past 12 months resulted in a successful sale, a 4 per cent drop from 59 per cent a year ago.

Paul Higgins, chief executive at HOA, said the drop reflected the fact that the prices were “not right for buyers”. Sellers are now having to accept lower than asked-for prices, with average sale prices of 95.8 per cent of the original, down by 0.6 per cent from 96.4 per cent last year, the data showed.

It comes after a Which? report found that “greedy” estate agents were overvaluing properties. It found that homes which were sold after being reduced by more than 5 per cent of their asking price had an average final sale price of £241,000. Those that were bought for a price which was within 5 per cent of the original asking price sold for an average of £19,000 more, at £260,000.

Which? said that indicated that estate agents were substantially overvaluing properties meaning owners were ultimately selling for a lower price than they had to.

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