Record number of houses sell for less than asking price: NAEA

This is an increase of 12 percentage points from February when 74% of sellers accepted offers below their original asking price.

Only one in 10 properties (10%) sold for the original asking price in March, also the lowest on record.

Demand for housing fell in March, with annual demand for housing down by 22%, while supply increased from 35 per branch in February, to 40 in March – the highest since October last year.

Despite sales to first-time buyers rising last month following the stamp duty relief introduction, sales to the group fell by three percentage points to 26% in March, down from 27% in January and 29% in February.

Mark Hayward, chief executive of NAEA Propertymark, said: “Earlier this month, Zoopla research showed that on average, houses are being sold for almost £25,000 less than asking price, which our findings echo. A record number of properties sold for less than asking price in March, indicating that buyers have shifted into the power seat. This is music to house-hunters’ ears – especially first-time buyers. Although sales to the group have fallen, the fact that the market is moving in the favour of buyers may trigger an upward swing in the number of sales agreed as they’re in a position to negotiate lower prices.

“However, this is a short-term triumph for buyers. Although demand has cooled off over the last few months and created these market conditions, it’s likely to increase again as those holding off on making purchases move to take advantage of these lower prices. Ultimately, this means the number of offers accepted below asking price will fall again and the market will swing back in the favour of homeowners. The only thing which will offer a long term solution is more homes to balance the issue of supply and demand.”