Prices reduced for a third of homes for sale in Hartlepool

Almost 40% of properties for sale in Hartlepool have had their price reduced, according to figures.

Figures released by online estate agents HouseSimple.com show that, of the 420 properties for sale in the town, 157 of them have been reduced in price.

That places Hartlepool in the top 15 major UK towns and cities with the highest percentage of properties currently being advertised that have been reduced in price.

Seventeen of the top 20 are in the north of England.

Top of the list is Stockton, with 49.2% of its on the market properties having gone down in price.

Middlesbrough and Darlington are among the other towns in the top 10, while Hartlepool is in 15th, on 37.4%.

HouseSimple looked at current listings on property website Zoopla for 100 major towns and cities across the UK, and the percentage of properties listed that had been reduced in price, to compile the figures.

Alex Gosling, CEO of HouseSimple.com, said: “We saw a large disparity in our research across major UK towns and cities when it came to the percentage of properties reduced in price since they were first marketed.

“Price reductions can indicate that there are too many sellers and not enough buyers, but actually there has been a lack of stock coming onto the market and plenty of buyers looking.

"That would suggest that sellers are in the driving seat and wouldn’t need to drop their asking price to secure an offer.

"But with all the economic uncertainty, particularly around Brexit, buyers are being more cautious about purchasing, spending more time viewing multiple properties before making a decision.

“If sellers are committed to selling, then cutting the price is likely to attract more buyers, and particularly those buyers who have expressed an interest but are sitting on the fence.

“For anyone selling a property, there needs to be a lowest price you’re willing to take so that you are prepared to negotiate if a strong buyer – someone with finance in place who can move quickly to exchange – makes an offer.

"Sometimes holding out for an offer that might be a few thousand pounds more, could result in your property sitting on the market for months.”