The Daily Telegraph

85pc of homes sold for less than asking price in November, say estate agents

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♦ More than eight in 10 homes sold last month went for less than the asking price, figures from the National Associatio­n of Estate Agents (NAEA) show.

The figure of 85 per cent is the highest proportion since the NAEA started its records in January 2013 and was up from 78 per cent in October.

In May 2014, just 46 per cent of houses sold went for less than the asking price, the record low.

Only 12 per cent of properties sold at the original asking price in November. The remaining 3 per cent went for more than the asking price.

The average number of properties available to buy on estate agents’ books fell from 42 in October to 34 in November – marking the lowest number of properties available since January 2016. Demand from househunte­rs also decreased, to its lowest levels since September 2016.

Mark Hayward, the chief executive of NAEA Propertyma­rk, said: “A record number of properties sold for less than the original asking price last month, but despite this, demand for housing and the number of homes available decreased. More potential buyers and sellers have put their plans on hold early so they can start afresh in 2018.”

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