28.5% of West Hampstead Property Sellers Reduce Their Asking Prices as the Property Market Equilibrium Starts to Return

• 222 of the 779 properties on the market in the West Hampstead area have had a price reduction in the last 3 months.
• The average reduction has been 5.4% of the original asking price.
• This is great news for West Hampstead home buyers and West Hampstead buy-to-let landlords, strangely West Hampstead house sellers as well.

The last couple of years of the West Hampstead property market has seen some amazing prices being achieved with multiple offers and many properties selling for way over the asking price.

Yet, as I have been writing about the West Hampstead property market over the last few weeks, the tide is beginning to turn, and pendulum swing more towards a balanced West Hampstead property market as more homeowners in the West Hampstead area (NW6) have been reducing their asking prices.

Of the 779 properties for sale in the West Hampstead area, 222 have been reduced in price in the last 3 months. 

This can be broken down as follows… 

So why is this important and why is this good news, even for West Hampstead house sellers?

Property industry statistics show that 5 out of 6 house sellers will buy another property and over 80% of those sellers will move up the property ladder. 

When you move up the property ladder, that normally means you pay more for the one you want to move to (that’s why it’s called the property ladder).

So, whilst you won’t be getting as much for yours as you might have done earlier in the year, you won’t have to pay as much for the one you want to buy (and the price difference between the two properties will be smaller – meaning you will end up saving money because of these reductions).

Therefore, what is the level of reduction being seen in the West Hampstead property market?

The average percentage of the price reduction in the West Hampstead area has been 5.4%.

I must stress house prices/values in West Hampstead haven’t dropped 5.4%, just the asking prices of some of the properties on the market.

This is good news for West Hampstead first-time buyers and landlords, as they will be more likely to buy a property at a more reasonable price whilst. As I explained above, this is also good news for sellers as most of them will end up paying less for the higher priced property they end up buying after selling theirs.

So, what should West Hampstead homeowners be aware of if they are selling their home now or in the future?

For me it is important that I inform all West Hampstead property owners of the real story. This enables them to judge for themselves where they stand in the current West Hampstead property market, thus enabling them to make better informed decisions.

You see some West Hampstead estate agents will deliberately over inflate the suggested initial asking price to the house seller, because it gives them a bigger chance to secure the property on that agent’s book, as opposed to a competitor.

This practice is called overvaluing.

Now of course, each West Hampstead homeowner wants to get the most for their home, yet some estate agents know this and prey on those West Hampstead house sellers.

You might ask, what is the problem with that?

Well, you only get one opportunity at hitting the West Hampstead property market as a new property. Everybody has access to the internet, social media and the four main property portals (Rightmove, Boomin, On The Market, Zoopla), and your potential buyers will know the property market like the back of their hand.

If you have a 2-bed West Hampstead semi that is on the market for a 3-bed West Hampstead semi-detached house price ... those West Hampstead buyers will ignore you.

Your West Hampstead property will stick on the market as your potential buyers keep seeing your property on the portals each week. 

These buyers will then start to believe there is something wrong with your property and dismiss it even further. That is until you, as the house seller, reduce your asking price. The issue is that sometimes these buyers will think something is wrong with your home and could bid you down even further, meaning you will get less even though you asked for more! (This was backed up by some research done by Which?).

Now according to research by Denton House, the average British house buyer only views around six properties before buying – so please don’t assume viewers will come round your optimistically priced (i.e., overvalued) West Hampstead home, thinking they will knock you down - quite the opposite - they just won’t view your home in the first place.

And you know that because I bet you have done the same yourself when searching for property.

So, all I suggest is this ... be realistic with your asking price to start with.

Do that and you will sell your West Hampstead property at a decent price to a decent buyer ... first time, every time - enabling you to move onto the next chapter of your life.

If you know of anyone currently selling their home in the West Hampstead area and finding things difficult, please share this article with them as it could be of interest.