House sales are slowing down amid a surge of down-valuations, according to property industry insiders. House prices have been surging for two years, with the average home now worth £286,079 - up 10.8% in the past 12 months alone, according to Halifax. High demand among buyers seeking more space, coupled with a shortage of supply, has sparked bidding wars, pushing offers far above asking prices. However, brokers say they are now seeing lenders apply the brakes and increasingly down-value homes by tens of thousands of pounds. Emma Jones, broker and owner of Alder Rose Mortgage Services, claims around a fifth of her clients are now being told their property is worth less than the asking price. "We have seen around twice as many down-valuations in the past few months as we were previously," she says. "It suggests lenders are being more cautious. And it is something we are seeing across the board and with holiday lets as well." House price growth slowed last month, rising at a rate of 1.1% compared to 1.5% between February and March, according to Halifax's most recent figures. And analysts Capital Economics predict that prices will fall by 3% next year. Dominik Lipnicki, director at Your Mortgage Decisions, says: “It is human nature that valuers may be more cautious if they know there has been such a long period of house price rises. If this is not a blip, but a general trend, then it could be a sign that property price growth is about to slow down.”
Daily Mail
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