75% of property sold at below asking price last quarter

CoreLogic research analyst Cameron Kusher said that the findings offer up some interesting insights.

“Over the past decade, even in periods where dwelling value growth was quite strong, the majority of properties sold nationally continued to sell for less than the original list price, highlighting that even during the boom times, vendors will need to be flexible on their price expectations and buyers will seek out room to negotiate.”

He also said that a noticeable trend has emerged.

“Since the middle of 2015, which is prior to value growth starting to slow but at a time where credit availability was tightening and transaction volumes were starting to fall, the share of properties selling for less than the original list price has been trending higher,” Mr Kusher said.

He said that this was most keenly seen in the country’s two key markets.

“Geographically, the rising trend of a greater share of properties selling with a discount is being driven by the Sydney and Melbourne markets where buyers have endured a long period of low advertised stock levels, rapidly rising prices and intense FOMO,” Mr Kusher said.

“As housing market conditions have weakened, buyers have more stock to choose from and far less urgency. They are gaining more leverage, negotiating harder, and a growing proportion of vendors are selling at prices lower than their original advertised price.”

Mr Kusher said that outside of Sydney and Melbourne, the trends are quite different — with one notable exception.

“Hobart, where housing market conditions have been strong relative to the other cities, is the exception, with an ongoing reduction in the proportion of properties selling below the original list price.”

This week’s Property Pulse found that across the combined capital cities, 73.6 per cent of properties sold for less than their list price over the past three months, against 21.5 per cent that sold for more.

It also found that across the combined regional markets over the same three-month period, 78.9 per cent sold for less and 13.0 per cent sold for more than their list price.