Home sellers risk bad case of 'brickor mortis'

Price monitors Hometrack found asking prices in the capital actually rose in the past month, but sale prices fell.

This indicates buyers are refusing to pay what they see as excessive prices, resulting in the average time a property stays on the market going up from 78 days to 85.

The most optimistic sellers are in Westminster, where asking prices have gone up by an average of £32,499. In Kensington and Chelsea they rose by more than £28,000 and in Tower Hamlets by more than £17,000.

In other areas vendors appear to be more realistic. A fall in asking prices of £12,152 was recorded in Hammersmith and Fulham and of £10,500 in Kingston.

Property website Rightmove said the challenge for sellers was to avoid "brickor mortis" as the summer holidays would make buyers even scarcer.

Commercial director Miles Shipside said: "Property is taking longer and longer to sell and we have seen a large jump in our time-on-the-market figures in the past month. This is also likely to be a reflection of fewer sellers being enticed on to the market."

The Hometrack figures show the average asking price in London has climbed back above £400,000.

This indicates that sellers are willing to test the market, especially as the majority of them can afford not to drop their asking prices.

Mr Shipside said: "Many sellers still seem to be disregarding the brutal fact that their potential buyers' sentiment and affordability has taken a severe knock. They run the risk of their property losing freshness. It will then fail to generate as much interest, even if the price is reduced." Ed Mead of agents Douglas & Gordon said: "In London there are more sellers that refuse to reduce their asking prices than elsewhere. They are often professionally successful and strongly opinionated and will remain bullish when other sellers have accepted reality. "

He said that sellers who put their home on the market but didn't get any viewings within two weeks ought to reconsider their asking price rather than switching agents in the hope of generating interest, which was "pointless" because a shrewd buyer would see through it. "Best to bite the bullet and reduce the price until its attracts the buyers," added Mr Mead.