For home buyers negotiating on price, researching house prices is key preparation
- Interest base rate reduced to 0.5% Mar 5th 2009
- Mortgages are likely to remain difficult to obtain. Best rates need large deposits
- Buyers with access to funds should to be in a strong position
How firmly can you negotiate on house price?
There are wide variations in prices nationally. Local research is essential.
See Rightmove below, prices may be more realistic. But gap between asking and selling may be closing in some areas.
Negotiate better and you could save £1,000s to £10,000s. Our Home buyers' guide offers detailed home buying advice
Base rate reduced to 0.5%
Will this base rate reduction by Bank of England Mar 5th 2009 help house buyers negotiate on price?
Vendors who must sell must talk
Don't overpay. House prices may seem to be levelling out. But outlook on economy is worrying.
Be wary of sellers and agents being too bullish. Future mortgage rates could go much higher.
If you have money, you'll be in a very strong position to negotiate with any serious seller.
- For many buyers getting a mortgage at all will be a problem
- Cautious lenders are demanding much larger deposits to get the best lending rates
- The days of buying with little or no deposit are over
Plan ahead, know your local market before negotiating on price
Price variations within regions and even locally can be huge. It's essential to keep a close watch on your local market.
- Know which homes offer best value. Research is essential to negotiate the price down
- Identify those who must sell. It's just as important to find out all you can about sellers. Information gives you negotiating power
Click for house prices direct at Land Registry 
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When you're looking generally, Land Registry provide wide ranging statistics based on actual property sales.
To research their site, Click on "Postcode: Area/District/Sector." To search by town name "Exclude Postcode sectors." To search by postcode select "Postcode sectors only" in the drop down box.
Sectors give average prices on blocks of around 3,000 homes.
Postcode searches are free. Land Registry charge for prices by individual address. The information is available free from several sources, including Our Property.
Search house prices by address at Our Property opens in new window
Useful when you want information on particular homes(s) you might buy. Research actual sale prices for neighbouring properties from Land Registry. Available free from Our Property.
House prices. Information sites
More information is available on the individual sites.
Rightmove These figures indicate what's happening to asking prices in the market now. Agreed selling prices may be less, possibly much less in some cases.
Nationwide Full report on their site based on the latest mortgage advances.
Halifax Full report based on the latest mortgage advances on their site.
Hometrack Reports on sale prices agreed between sellers and buyers, as reported by the selling agents. Also comments on how long homes are taking to sell. Worth watching to see how the market is reacting to the changed financial situation.
