Buyers are achieving price reductions – especially those purchasing in cash – especially as sellers are nervous their mortgage offers will expire. We speak to two agents and a property analyst to see who is managing to knock off the most off asking prices, how they are doing this, and what other impacts they are seeing from the rate rises.: “Buyers are playing a waiting game, which means we’re having more viewings to sell the property.
Going forward, I expect that buyers will be very keen to complete before their mortgage offer expires and their rate becomes a lot more expensive. It will definitely be a point of negotiation in the future: that if the sale can’t be completed before the buyer’s mortgage offer expires, the price will have to be renegotiated – or the buyer simply won’t be able to afford the house”.: “I act for buyers and I’ve noticed that estate agents are much more jumpy.
I haven’t noticed house prices adjusting yet to the rate rise and I don’t see lots of people bidding for houses. There are an awful lot of buyers sitting on their hands, waiting to see what happens. Sellers no longer have the upper hand, as they have done for the last few years. Right now, I think the market is in balance but it’s shifting towards being a buyers’ market, and I expect house prices will fall by around ten per cent.