Estate agents are being accused of setting prices higher than buyers are currently willing to pay, widening the gap between listing prices and agreed sales prices.
This issue is emerging during a period of ongoing market adjustment, where affordability constraints and high mortgage costs are limiting what buyers can offer, even where underlying demand remains.
According to House Buyer Bureau’s internal data analysis, the mismatch between expectations and prices received is extending sales times and increasing the incidence of price undercutting as sellers and agents adjust pricing strategies.
The analysis shows that only two regions – London and South East England – are currently seeing sellers’ expectations broadly in line with predicted market values. In both cases, the gap between the level of demand and broader market pricing is comparatively small.
The House Buyer’s Bureau compared seller-reported property prices from homes entering the quick sale market with estimated average market values across England.
In London, sellers were found to be quoting an average price of £447,692, while the estimated wider market price was £560,889, a difference of -£113,197. In the South East, seller expectations were slightly below the market price, with a difference of -£6,977.
Outside of these areas, data indicates that seller pricing is generally above estimated market levels.
The biggest difference was recorded in South West England (+£45,086), followed by Yorkshire and the Humber (+£33,459), North West England (+£26,632) and the East Midlands (+£26,262).
According to Chris Hodgkinson, managing director of the House Buyer Bureau, the findings point to continued regional variation in pricing behaviour, with some sellers still setting expectations above the sales levels achieved, which is contributing to friction in some parts of the market.
He commented: “One of the biggest challenges in the current market is that pricing behavior is being shaped very differently depending on where you are in the country.
“In London and the South East, where values had already climbed to very high levels, sellers have been hit hardest by the change in market conditions. As a result, many are reacting decisively, often reducing prices significantly below their expectations to ensure a sale, sometimes more than strictly necessary.
“However, elsewhere across the country, the picture is very different. In many areas, sellers are still coming to the market with expectations well above buyers willing to transact, which is creating a glaring gap between pricing and demand.
“In both cases, the result is the same. When pricing does not align with market reality, it reduces buyer interest, slows down negotiations, and increases the likelihood of a delayed or failed sale.
“For many sellers, this becomes apparent only after weeks or months on the market, by which point they have already lost valuable time and, in some cases, money.
“That’s why we’re increasingly seeing an increasing number of sellers opt for faster, more certain routes to selling, especially those who either need to move quickly or have already experienced the disappointment of a sale that didn’t go as planned.”