New sellers drop house asking price (News (General))

by administrator , Wednesday, July 28, 2010, 02:30

House prices in England and Wales have fallen for the first time in 2010 last month as new sellers reduced their asking figures to remain competitive, according to research.

During the four weeks to July 10, the average asking price for a property was £236,332, a 0.6% drop from the previous month.

Property website Rightmove said about 30,000 new homes were appearing on the market every week, which was nearly double (45%) the average of July 2009.

The group said there are now five new potential homes for sale for every two buyers with an approved mortgage, as the average number of properties managed by estate agents reached 77.

This is the highest level since August 2008, and Rightmove said it expected house prices to lose the 7% increases they had made so far this year, which pushed prices up £15,506 to reach an average peak of £237,767 in June, by the end of 2010.

Miles Shipside, Rightmove commercial director, said: "More aggressive pricing is likely to see the average price gains of 7% for the first half of the year wiped out by year-end, in line with Rightmove's original forecast for the year of no net change in prices."