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Average asking price reduction of homes sold in 2015

Spanish property asking price reductions per year
Average asking price reductions per year. Source: Fotocasa.es

The average asking price reduction of homes sold in 2015 was 14%, according to an annual survey by the Spanish property portal Fotocasa.es.

Every year for the last six years Fotocasa has conducted a survey of vendors and ownners trying to sell a home in Spain.

With buyers firmly in the saddle since the Spanish property bubble burst, vendors have been reducing their price expectations each year, and last year the average reduction accepted by vendors who found a buyer was 14%, the equivalent of €33,000 on average.

The difference between the original asking price and the final price accepted in 2015 was the smallest of the last six years, in a sign that vendors are moving into a stronger position (chart above). Back in 2012, the average price reduction was 27%, as successful vendors found their original expectations were way above what buyers were prepared to pay that year.

OTHER FINDINGS FROM THE SURVEY:

  • 81% of successful vendors in 2015 had to accept a price reduction.
  • 36% of owners who put a property up for sale in 2015 managed to sell, up from 28% in 2014. The average time on market for successful vendors in 2015 was just under a year (10.6 months).
  • 44% of vendors managed to sell in less than 6 months, 25% took between 7 and 12 months, 16% between 13 and 24 months, and 15% took more than 2 years to sell.
  • 46% of vendors were selling their main home, and 22% a second home. 18% were selling an inherited property.
  • 52% were selling flats, 19% detached homes, 9% semi-detached homes, and 20% other types or residential property.
  • 68% of vendors used a broker, 43% to get better potential clients, 24% for the convenience of letting an agent handle the sale, 17% because they weren’t getting results on their own, and 16% to avoid the red tape and paperwork of doing it themselves.

MAJORITY OF UNSUCCESSFUL WOULD-BE VENDORS DIG IN THEIR HEELS

This year’s survey found that 52% of would-be vendors who have never reduced their asking price have no intention of doing so. This illustrates a common and unpragmatic attitude in Spain of sticking to an unrealistic asking price even if there are no takers. “The survey shows that in Spain there still exists a strong resistance to dropping prices,” explains Beatriz Toribio, head of research at Fotocasa. “For the first time since we began these surveys the number of owners who won’t reduce their asking price, despite not selling, are in the majority, which is surprising when you consider all that has happened in the property market.”

The survey also revealed that reducing the price is not always enough. 66% of those who didn’t sell also reduced their asking price by 14% to no avail. “The price is one of the most important factors in the purchase decision, but there are other factors like location, distribution, quality and features,” explains Toribio. “Not everything sells, even if it is in [the market] price.”

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