Eager to sell your house this year? You may want to rethink your strategy, according to property experts.
Zoopla's latest house price index reports a surge in choice for new buyers as homes flood the UK market.
This has caused house price growth to drop by 1.4 per cent, down from two per cent earlier in the year.
And, while "house price growth is being dragged lower as buyers have a growing choice of homes for sale", property experts have advised that "serious sellers need to price realistically" to secure a sale this year, Zoopla has said.
Currently, the average UK property price is £268,400, which is a £3,960 increase from last year.
UK house price growth has dropped by 1.4 per cent
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Commenting on the latest data, executive director at Zoopla, Richard Donnell, advised: "Serious sellers need to be realistic on where they set their asking price in order to achieve a sale and secure a home move in 2025."
Currently, the average time to sell a property is approximately 45 days, which is around the same length it took to bump a house off the market this time last year.
In the northeast, properties tend to sell more quickly, averaging out around 35 days. Meanwhile, all the southern regions in Britain average more than 50 days as a result of more buyer choice.
Currently, more than one in five properties (22 per cent) that are on the market have been so for more than six months and are still looking for a buyer.
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Meanwhile, 23 per cent of properties have spent around three to six months on the market without a buyer. Additionally, the average time for an unsold property to spend on the market is 75 days.
A massive hindrance that blocks sellers from shifting their property off the market boils down to the price.
Quite often, they have a price in mind for which they would prefer to sell the house, but it can take a long time to complete the sale.
At the end of the day, the choice comes down to prioritising the sale price or the speed at which the property could get taken off the market.
The average time to sell a property is approximately 45 days
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Additionally, the market is set to remain “on track for five per cent more sales in 2025 but house price inflation will remain between one and two per cent,” the CEO said.
Richard added: "The number of buyers and sellers agreeing home sales continues to increase year-on-year, demonstrating a continued desire of more households to move home in 2025.
“Improving mortgage affordability will support buying power in the second half of the year."
Buyers are still “price-sensitive”, particularly among “higher-value markets where the number of homes for sale has grown the most in the last year”, amplifying choice for those looking to buy.