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According to a recent report desperate homeowners in the UK are knocking millions of pounds off the asking price of homes in a bid to try and get buyers in what has been described as the worst housing downturn since the early days of the 1990s by some industry officials. Millions of pounds are being wiped of asking prices in the hope that buyers will be able to – or will want to – take the plunge. However, tight loan conditions and the risk of falling house prices is putting many potential buyers off.

One homeowner trying to sell a flat in central London recently knocked almost one million pounds off the asking price in a bid to try and sell the property as early as possible. Officials have said that this seems to be a growing trend, where homeowners are slashing the asking price in the hope of securing a quick sale. Some industry officials said that many homeowners were too optimistic about the value of their homes following the house price boom of the last ten year, and only now were homeowners starting to realise that they are not going to get what they are hoping for in terms of price.

One estate agent recently stated: ‘I have been in the business for 13 years and have never seen it so tough.’ He added; ‘It is definitely a rental market at the moment. ‘Property is selling if it is priced right, and we are still getting record prices for one-bedroom flats. But if you have a three bedroom house to sell for half a million, and you want a four bedroom which will cost you £650,000, the extra mortgage cost will make it that you would be better off doing a loft conversion and staying put.’

Another official said: ‘We are taking on good houses, but the problem is there are so few buyers. There are houses that are selling, but just not as many.’



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