Opinions Contrast on Price Points of New Homes Entering Market
New homes coming onto the market recently have been priced in line with those of 2010, according to property website Rightmove. Sellers in England and Wales are asking an average of 1.0% lower than during the previous four weeks. This equates to roughly £2,600. The political climate coupled with the beginning of buying season is being cited for the decline.
Rightmove director Miles Shipside commented on the fall in opening sales prices, saying: “With the onset of the summer holiday season, new sellers typically price more conservatively and the average drop in the month of July is 0.4% over the last six years. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this July’s fall is marginally larger, as political turbulence has a track record of unsettling sentiment.”
The biggest drop in sales prices so far has been in Yorkshire and Humber where prices have been more than 2.0% lower than the last four weeks to July 9.
In contrast to Rightmove, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors claims prices were not out of line with past summer selling seasons.
Estate agent Mark Manning sees the current climate as well intact based on the historic vote to leave the EU, saying: “The political soap opera that has played out following the historic vote to leave the EU, combined with the obvious economic uncertainty should have, for all intents and purposes, spawned a significant alteration in the market.
“Up north, all seems to be well, with new listings in June showing a 7% increase on 2015 and a volume of sales which remained broadly similar to those in previous months.”