Strong demand pushes home sales closer to asking prices

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“Buyers may be disheartened by the decrease in the typical discounts on offer but can take cheer from the fact that almost a third of houses are listed today below their original asking price,” said Zoopla’s Lawrence Hall. “On the flip side, vendors can be pretty confident of achieving close to their initial asking price.”

Even in regions where the housing market is most depressed, the discounts are still relatively small.

The largest price cuts are in Blackpool, at an average discount of 9.8pc.

Meanwhile in Rotherham 43.6pc of homes for sale are on offer for less than the original asking price, with an average reduction of 7.4pc.

The extraordinary run of rising prices could continue as mortgage lenders continue to cut the interest rates available on the loans. Despite the Bank of England indicating its next move will be to increase interest rates, just last month the Yorkshire Building Society launched the lowest ever two-year fixed rate deal, at 1.07 per cent.

Such high prices have also provoked worries that housing is becoming less and less affordable, particularly for first-time buyers who have missed out on the boom. Schemes such as the Help to Buy mortgage guarantee and the Help to Buy ISA have been introduced by the government to aid those who may otherwise struggle to purchase a home, but critics argue the programmes may simply push up prices further, and instead say that more building is needed to ease pressure in the market.

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