Asking prices of Britain’s most expensive properties are still rising in a seven-month rally, according to Primelocation – but one estate agent specialising in the sector says that one in ten prime properties is having to have its price cut every month in order to attract any interest.
Savills says that the average price cut on high-end properties is 7.5%.
Savills’ latest report comes as Primelocation says that the UK property market has increasingly split into two segments, with the asking prices of high-value property rising as other asking prices sink.
Primelocation says that the average asking price for prime properties is now more than £250,000 above the UK average asking price.
The new Primelocation index reveals that asking prices of prime properties – the top quarter of the market by value – increased 0.5% in September to hit new heights.
The average asking price of a UK prime property is currently £472,340, boosting the overall asking price of all properties to £219,843.
Nigel Lewis, property analyst at Primelocation, said: “There’s no question about it – by every measure available, prime properties are consistently outperforming the general market.”
But Savills simultaneously warned of prime property owners trying to sell at inflated prices.
The firm warned of reduced buying activity and said that overpriced property has only been able to attract interest after a price reduction. Only prime properties in central London have gone up in value – year on year by 8.5% and by 1.1% in the last quarter.
Everywhere else, including in the rest of the South-East, values of prime properties have fallen, said Savills.
While the firm expects prime markets to outperform the mainstream market, it said that sellers must price realistically.
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