Sellers struggling to find buyers for their homes

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by Kay Murchie

Property website, Rightmove, has established that an increasing amount of homes are unsold due to sellers being unable to find a buyer as they refuse to move on price.

The company said that, on average, estate agents have 64 properties for sale, compared to 54 a year ago.

Furthermore, properties are taking longer to sell, on average 93 days, compared to 78 days a year ago.

Recent reports have noted price house falls with property experts predicting more falls. Consequently, homeowners are putting their properties up for sale before prices drop and overstretched borrowers selling up as they struggle with mortgage repayments.

Rightmove said the 4 weeks to mid-February had seen the lowest level of listings for that period since the start of 2005 and average asking prices had risen by 3.2%.

Miles Shipside of Rightmove said most sellers want to achieve as much as possible for their property and traditionally they have chosen to test the market at an ambitious price in February, as they have plenty of time to adjust it down later.

Mr Shipside added that this is normally compounded by estate agents being keen to have new property on their books and sellers tempted to try a higher figure.

However, the property firm also discovered that in spite of the turbulence in the financial markets and challenging conditions for mortgage borrowers, asking prices in the capital have increased by an average of £3,757 in the last month.

The largest increase was noted in Hammersmith, where asking prices are now £23,589 higher than a month ago. In Wandsworth, Hounslow, Ealing and Camden, increases were £17,308, £14,192, £13,038 and £12,933 respectively.