Homes for sale which have been reduced in price since first coming onto the market have fallen to the lowest level for almost three years, research has revealed.
The proportion of homes for sale which have their asking price lowered at least once has fallen to 30.7 per cent, down from 34.3 per cent a year ago, according to property website Zoopla.
It says this is a further sign that 'confidence and strength' is returning in the property market. It marks the third successive three-month period in which the proportion of reduced properties has fallen, indicating home sellers are more likely to get the asking price they have set.
Yorkshire properties: According to research, homeowners in the Northern county are the most likely to have lowered prices to push through a saleThe amount by which asking prices are being discounted on average has also been slimmed to 6.1 per cent – the lowest level of cuts since November 2010.
But the North-South property divide has continued according to the research, with the top ten areas with both the highest proportion of discounted properties and biggest asking price reductions all located in the North.
More... On the hunt for a home? The first-time buyer's guide to getting a mortgage and climbing onto the property ladder House prices could be about to take off again - and that's the last thing the UK economy needs The nurse index: Things are improving, but just how affordable are house prices for essential workers? Can you find a better rate?: Mortgage tables
Yorkshire has been particularly hit by price drops in order to sell a property. Six of the ten areas with the highest number of homes that are having values axed to push through a sale are located in the county.
This includes the top three on the list. Rotherham, Doncaster and Wakefield have seen prices slashed on 42, 41 and 40 per cent of all property for sale respectively.
Barnsley has the highest number of discounts in the country, with an average of 8.6 per cent being sliced off the average property. Liverpool and Blackpool are just behind, with prices trimmed by 8.5 per cent and 8.3 per cent respectively.
London has the lowest proportion of price reductions in the UK with only 24 per cent of properties currently for sale in the capital having had their asking price adjusted downwards.
Edinburgh and Bournemouth complete the top three. The Scottish capital also has the lowest average asking price discount in the UK currently standing at just 4.9 per cent off the original asking price with Swindon and Bedford coming in second and third respectively.
TOP 20 TOWNS WITH LARGEST PROPORTION OF PRICE REDUCED HOMESTownProportion of homes with reduction (%)Average reduction (%)Average reduction (£)Rotherham41.98%7.79%£11,596Doncaster40.67%8.33%£14,062Wakefield40.18%7.52%£14,267Barnsley38.44%8.57%£12,204Sunderland38.24%8.33%£12,498Chesterfield38.18%6.30%£11,486Preston37.83%7.53%£15,688Leeds37.79%6.74%£13,304Wigan37.46%6.91%£11,395Huddersfield36.13%7.28%£14,995Warrington36.05%7.04%£14,527Norwich35.39%6.43%£16,369Liverpool35.09%8.51%£14,329Sheffield34.90%6.75%£11,636Mansfield34.73%7.60%£11,354Ipswich34.69%5.83%£13,761Plymouth34.29%5.85%£12,424Manchester34.22%7.27%£12,625Nottingham34.21%7.06%£12,883Hull34.18%6.84%£7,857FIVE AREAS WITH LOWEST NUMBER OF REDUCTIONSArea% of homes on market reducedAverage price reduction (%)London23.5%6.70%Edinburgh25.1%4.91%Bournemouth26.7%6.44%Swansea27.4%6.43%Gloucester27.6%6.39% FIVE AREAS WITH SMALLEST ASKING PRICE REDUCTIONSArea Average price reduction (%)% of homes on market reducedEdinburgh4.91%25.1%Swindon5.27%31.6%Bedford5.36%29.2%Milton Keynes5.47%30.3%Derby5.69%33.2%
Lawrence Hall, of Zoopla, said: ‘There is a generally positive sentiment in the property market at the moment that reflects a genuine belief that the worst of the economic crisis is behind us and that the housing market is at the early stages of a recovery.
‘These figures show that fewer and fewer sellers are feeling the same level of pressure to reduce prices as over the past couple of years which bodes well for a recovery in house pricing.’
The Zoopla report follows the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors saying that house hunters had hit their highest level for three-and-a-half years, driven by falling mortgage rates and the Government’s plan to reboot the property market.
House prices posted their first slight rise since June 2010, according to the latest RICS report, with estate agents seeing the effects of cheaper mortgages thanks to the Funding for Lending scheme kick in.
Chancellor George Osborne’s Budget roll of the dice on the property market, with more help for both first-time buyers and home movers also boosted confidence, said Rics, despite a major part of the plan not falling into place until next year.
RICS polls its member estate agents each month on their experience to provide a barometer of the property market.
It said that house prices were now back in positive territory, albeit only just, with 1 per cent more of its members overall reporting prices rising rather than falling.
There were strong gains in London and the South East and smaller rises in Wales and the North West.
But prices are still falling in all other regions, including significant drops in the north of England and Scotland.
RICS reported that new buyer enquiries rose to their highest level in over three years, with 25 per cent more chartered surveyors saying they rose rather than fell – almost double the 13 per cent recorded in March.
NUMBER OF COUNCIL HOMES SOLD DOUBLES IN A YEARThe number of council tenants taking up the option of buying their homes has doubled to almost 6,000, according to new figures.
A £75,000 off the value of the property to eligible tenants under the right-to-buy scheme led to 5,942 council homes being sold in 2012/13, up from 2,638 the previous year.
The figure for England is the highest since 2007 and includes 2,449 sold in the first three months of the year, four times the level for the equivalent quarter in 2012.
The discount for properties in London was increased to £100,000 in March and the qualification period for tenants is set to be reduced, which could result in a further rise in sales next year.
Housing minister Mark Prisk said: ‘I'm delighted that so many tenants are choosing to seize the opportunity to get on the property ladder through the reinvigorated right-to-buy.’