Sellers drop prices to lure buyers

New sellers have dropped their asking prices by 1.1% to create a national average asking price of £229,767 in a bid to help lure buyers.

It means prices have been reduced by 3.4% in the last three months, according to Rightmove’s house price index for September.

On a regional basis, asking prices declined the furthest in the East Midlands, down 4.4% to £161,603. On an annual basis, prices in the North and the South East saw the sharpest increases, up 4.6% to £151,795 and £298,903 respectively.

Miles Shipside, commercial director for the portal, says: "The double-dippers will be able to point to a clear downward trend, with new sellers dropping their asking prices for three months on the bounce. They can cite tough competition amongst sellers and agents struggling to find proceedable buyers for their record levels of unsold stock."

The number of new properties to have been listed on the portal this month has declined to 26,000 – the lowest volume since April.

The average number of properties for sale per estate agent is now at 79.

The survey follows a poll undertaken by national opinion pollster YouGov on behalf of the Council of Mortgage Lenders, which suggests that 76% of individuals polled have aspirations of owning their own home in the next two years, which is down from the 78% the last time the survey was undertaken in 2007.

The CML attributes the slide to a substantially lower short-term appetite (42%) for home ownership among adults aged 18 to 24, due to their desire for greater flexibility and mobility in their living arrangements and a lack of affordability.