Sellers On The Back Foot As Buyers Dominate UK Housing Market

Press release: 12 February 2008

Sellers are being forced to drop prices in every region in England and Wales as the housing market crisis deepens, according to the latest Asking Price Index report from Home.co.uk.

The figures reveal that buyers are now the dominant force in the market in each of the ten regions of England and Wales, as the credit crunch dramatically reduces the amount banks and building societies are prepared to lend and, therefore, the number of potential buyers.

Buyers with small deposits and bad credit are now finding themselves squeezed out entirely, leaving only those buyers with large deposits to rule the market.

Doug Shephard, from Home.co.uk, says the figures show that the "stalemate" between sellers and buyers is now over.

"Sellers have lost the battle across the country and are now realising the only way they can attract buyers is to slash prices."

He said the warning signs have been there for some time. Last month's Asking Price Index showing that the situation was so bad in Wales, East Midlands, the North and South West that during 2007 asking prices were failing to keep pace with inflation.

And this month's figures offer further insight into the long-term picture, with a six-month drop in prices in eight out of ten regions, with sellers in Yorkshire and Humber and East Anglia among the last to admit defeat.

Over the last six months asking prices have dropped in London by 0.3%, in the South East by 2.7% and in Wales by 3.5%. Scotland has seen the biggest drop of 5.4%.

The current average asking price in England and Wales now stands at £255,544, a drop of £3,870 (1.5%) on January's figures

"It has taken a long time for sellers in some areas to realise the extent of the housing crisis but it looks like the penny has finally dropped," Shephard added.

Notes for Editors

Over the last 28 years, Home.co.uk has become established as a dynamic, innovative and ethical service. By providing the UK's most comprehensive Property Search and Estate Agents directory coupled with detailed House Price analysis, Home.co.uk delivers the real power of the Internet to inform and empower estate agents, homebuyers, renters, landlords and sellers in across the UK.