80% of property sellers forced to cut asking prices
http://www.iolproperty.co.za/roller/news/entry/property_sellers_forced_to_cut
Residential property sellers are still unrealistic about the price they want for their homes. In the fourth quarter of last year, 80 percent of sellers were forced to reduce their asking price to conclude a sale.
The average reduction in price by sellers was estimated at 11 percent, according to the results of FNB’s fourth-quarter estate agency survey released yesterday. John Loos, a strategist at FNB Home Loans, said agents continued to point to unrealistic pricing in the market, with the percentage of sellers having to cut their asking price remaining almost unchanged at 80 percent in the fourth quarter, compared with 81 percent in the previous quarter. Loos said the average time properties remained on the market before being sold was still a lengthy 15 weeks and six days in the fourth quarter, slightly worse than the 15 weeks and four days previously. The survey pointed towards a “back to basics” approach to home buying with primary residential demand a priority and non-essential buying remaining firmly on the back burner.