Aberystwyth named worst home selling town in December

Houses in Aberystwyth took longer to sell in December than property in any other UK town, according to research from Home.co.uk.

In its 100 Worst Home Selling Towns analysis for December, the website reveals that there were 329 houses up for sale in Aberystwyth for an average of 314 days.

But Nigel Jones, director of Wales-based estate agents John Francis, which has a total of 18 offices, with one in Aberystwyth, disputes the findings.

"It [the length of time on market] is not something we have particularly noticed. It doesn't tie in with our experience.

"It's simply an area where they [vendors] haven't embraced the need to change their asking prices and be more realistic, [but] we haven't noticed it being a stand out problem compared with our other offices."

The Welsh coastal, university town was followed closely in the analysis by Loftus, near Middlesbrough, which had 149 properties on the market for 311 days, while Whickham, in the North East of England, had 237 properties on the market for an average 237 days.

Meanwhile, in its list of 100 Best Homes Selling Towns in December, the wealthy suburb of Bearsden, near Glasgow, won first place, offering 226 homes for sale that were on the market for an average of just 73 days.

Both lists are based on Home.co.uk's listed properties.

In terms of asking prices, the website’s latest Asking Price Survey reveals that the number of asking price reductions dropped by 42% in December.

The index reveals that the prices of just 73,000 homes listed on the market decreased, compared with 175,000 in November, though analysts for the site acknowledge that the sharp decrease could be due to December being a typically quiet month.

The average asking price reduction in December was £20,250, slightly higher than the £20,174 seen in November.

The index reveals that the average asking price in England and Wales is now £243,791, a monthly fall of 0.3% and a 6% decrease since January 2008.

Although prices fell an average 0.3% in the last month in eight of nine English regions and Wales and Scotland, market house prices in Greater London bucked the trend by rising by 0.4% in December.

But Home.co.uk attributes this to proportionally more expensive homes lingering in London estate agents' portfolios rather than an upturn in market sentiment.

On a regional basis, the East Midlands had the greatest year-on-year decrease in asking prices of 8%, resulting in an average price of £176,050.

This is closely followed by a 7.3% annual decrease in the South East, where prices now stand at £273,422.

Douglas Shepherd (pictured), business development director at Home.co.uk, says: "We expect transaction levels to increase slightly towards the end of 2009, together with a corresponding small increase in mortgage credit availability.

"Asking prices will remain subdued following further falls during the first half of the year. However, if sterling falls too far too and too quickly, emergency interest rate rises will be required, trampling on any green shoots of market recovery."

He adds: "We strongly suggest that strict limits on loan-to-value ratios and income multiples [on mortgages] would help pave the way for a better market for homeowners and mortgage lenders alike."

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