House sellers become more confident with asking prices

Posted: 27 Aug 2009 10:07:16 GMT

Confidence among house buyers is on the increase in the property market, but this has caused a shift in attitude among sellers, it has been revealed.

According to research carried out by The Co-operative, 54 per cent of people believe the housing market is seeing an upturn, with many stating the last month has seen the start of new optimism.

However, this has prompted house sellers to tighten over their asking prices, with 35 per cent of people claiming they would not drop below their stated value.

People selling their house in Scotland were the most committed to their asking price, with 40 per cent saying they would not accept a lower offer.

John Hughes, director of retail banking for the company, said: "With much speculation about green shoots of recovery in the housing market, the findings do indicate that consumer optimism is starting to return, although there clearly still remains some way to go."

A recent report from the Council of Mortgage Lenders revealed that gross mortgage lending was up by 26 per cent between June and July of this year. It stated that the majority of this rise would probably have been caused by new house purchases and not remortgaging.


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