Revealed - discounts on prime properties achieved by buying agency

The well-respected buying agency Black Brick has revealed the scale of discounts it secures on prime properties being sold for different reasons.

It says that between January 2017 and January this year it secured an average:

- 8.87 per cent off asking price for properties purchased directly from developers (making up 35 per cent of the firm’s transactions on behalf of clients);

- 3.08 per cent off the asking price of investment properties being sold by landlords (30 per cent of transactions);

- 5.62 per cent off properties being sold by those relocating (20 per cent);

- 4.10 per cent off properties being sold directly as a result of divorce (10 per cent);

- and 7.70 per cent off the asking prices of homes sold by those downsizing (five per cent).

“Thirty five per cent of our acquisitions were from professional sellers or developers. This was also the group where we were able to achieve the highest discount from the asking price” says Black Brick managing partner Camilla Dell. 

“This difference is explained by the greater pressure developer’s face to clear stock that isn’t earning an income, and their general nervousness about the state of the market” she adds.

Data from [construction analysis consultancy] Molior supports that interpretation. It found rising levels of unsold development properties in London, with 1,500 complete but unsold properties on developers’ books – up 35 per cent year on year. 

“As we’ve been advising clients for some time, new-build developments that have been completed, or are about to be completed, can provide some of the best deals at the moment” explains Dell.