Many properties still being listed at unrealistic prices.

Asking prices for homes in England and Wales fell an annual 7.3% in April, the smallest drop since January, property Web site Rightmove said on Monday.

That follows an annual drop of 9% in March and adds to evidence that the pace of house price falls may be starting to moderate as the flow of credit picks up after coming to a virtual standstill last year.

There remains a big gap between initial asking prices and eventual selling prices, however, and Rightmove said many properties were still being listed at an unrealistic price.

"Many sellers are still starting too high, but the fact they are coming to market in greater numbers and feel they can ask for more shows a strengthening in confidence," said Miles Shipside, Rightmove's commercial director.

"It looks like we are now bumping along the bottom of the trough."

Average asking prices rose 1.8% in the month of April, the third consecutive monthly rise. However, the figures are not adjusted to take seasonal factors into account and include only new listings.

The survey also found that a tenth of existing sellers were lowering prices by at least 2% each month.

"Feedback from estate agents suggest that prices actually being achieved are still around 25% below peak prices in many instances," the survey noted.

April is traditionally a busy month for new property listings. The Rightmove survey showed there were 13% rise in new sellers in April but a 19% fall compared with the same month last year.

Britain's housing market has taken a battering over the past year with prices down more than a fifth from their mid-2007

 Reuters, property prices, Rightmove, England, Wales, sellers, new listings, Britain, housing market, mortgage lenders, Miles Shipside 21 April 2009 21 April 2009

Reuters

Article from: www.realestateweb.co.za