House sellers 'face £10k average price drop before a sale is agreed'

House sellers across England and Wales are typically agreeing sales at around £10,000 less than the asking price, according to a property website.

On average, properties are selling for 3.86% less than the asking price - equating to £10,623 in cash terms - Zoopla found.

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Zoopla, which compared asking prices with selling prices using data from its website and from the Land Registry, found the percentage gap between the amounts sellers want and what they eventually receive has widened over the last year.

A year ago, sales were typically being agreed at 3.54% less than asking prices.

Looking regionally, properties in the South East of England are selling closest to the asking price - at 3.06% below typically - suggesting sellers are holding firm.

At the other end of the spectrum, buyers in Wales may find they have more room for negotiation, the research suggests.

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Sellers in Wales typically face the biggest gap between what they want and what they will get, with homes there selling at 5.87% under the asking price on average.

Lawrence Hall, a spokesman for Zoopla, said that while there have been some recent signs of a slowdown in market activity in and around London, "demand for properties in the capital and its surrounding commuter belt remains high".

Zoopla's data covered England and Wales as well as looking at trends in the 25 largest urban areas.

It found that properties in Bristol have been selling at the closest to their asking price over the past year, while the biggest gap was found in Bradford.

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Here is the percentage difference between sellers' asking prices and selling prices by region over the past year, according to Zoopla. Regions are ranked from the smallest percentage gap to the biggest:

1. South East England, 3.06%

2. East of England, 3.16%

3. West Midlands, 3.35%

4. South West England, 3.59%

5. East Midlands, 3.79%

6. London, 4.09%

7. Yorkshire and the Humber, 4.34%

8. North West England, 4.46%

9. North East England, 5.53%

10. Wales, 5.87%

Here are the top 10 cities in the study with the smallest difference between the asking price and the selling price typically over the past year, according to Zoopla:

1. Bristol, 1.9%

2. Sheffield, 2.07%

3. Coventry, 2.09%

4. Reading, 2.42%

5. Birmingham, 2.63%

6. Manchester, 2.76%

7. Southampton, 2.95%

8. Northampton, 3.06%

=9. York, 3.14%

=9. Norwich, 3.14%

And here are the top 10 cities in the study with the biggest difference between the asking price and the selling price typically over the past year, according to Zoopla:

1. Bradford, 6.32%

2. Preston, 6.24%

3. Swansea, 5.87%

4. Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 5.19%

5. Bolton, 4.92%

6. Doncaster, 4.78%

7. Hull, 4.08%

8. Derby, 4.06%

9. Leicester, 3.89%

10. Plymouth, 3.82%