As the world was focused on what many have called the best Olympic Games to date, potential home buyers were thought to be just as distracted with the sporting events as others.  To sell a home in the midst of the distraction of the Games sellers lowered their asking prices to be competitive.  According to the property Web site Rightmove the housing market saw a decline in asking prices of twice the usual rate for an August. 

There was a decline in asking prices by 2.4% in a month to month comparison between August and July putting the average at £236,260.  The average over the last decade was 1.1% for the month of August.  The site also recorded a fall of up to 50% in traffic during key sporting events of the Games.  The times during the opening and closing of the Games resulted in the largest decline of traffic to the site.

Miles Shipside, Rightmove director, said, “The number of new sellers is slightly up on the same period last year, though perhaps as a reflection of their urgency to sell, or to compensate for the distraction of the achievements served up by Team GB, they have dropped their asking prices more aggressively than summer sellers in previous years.”

The housing market is only a few months away from more distractions for home buyers as holiday planning takes a front seat to shopping for a new property.  Buyers that want to sell their properties will do well to stay in a competitive mode and put out an asking price that the market can handle as the economy continues to struggle.