Asking Prices Down by 10%

Vendors are making up to 10% less on the sale of their house today than they would have earlier in the year, Hamptons International has revealed. The estate agents confirmed that the contradictory information passed on to the property market by the media and this year's interest rate increases have taken their toll. According to Hamptons, the anticipated autumn influx of buyers on the market has not yet materialised, and there is now considerably less market activity, with viewings, offers and sales agreed well before last year's levels. Jonathon Cornell, Technical Director of Hamptons International Mortgages said: 'With so much contradictory information coming from so many respectable sources, it is no wonder that the average homeowner is completely baffled and choosing to sit on the sidelines until a clearer picture emerges.' However, Hamptons have found that the high-end country house markets are remaining buoyant, and that if properties are priced correctly, they will be sold quickly, resulting in a significant boost in sales in the last week of September: 'Buyers are very discerning, but when they find something special they are not holding back. Run-of-the-mill properties are more difficult to shift and need to be very competitively priced,' said Martin Chester, from Hamptons Thames Valley and Chilterns Country Houses.