The market has stalled — and Wales is feeling it worst
If your house has been on the market with an estate agent for months with little to show for it, you are not doing anything wrong. The whole market has slowed, and new figures show just how far.
The BBC reported this week on Zoopla’s latest house price data, and the headline number is stark:
“Three in five homes listed for sale since January remain on the market, according to property portal Zoopla.”
That is 60% of everything listed this year still sitting there, waiting for a buyer who hasn’t come. And the slowdown is hitting Wales harder than anywhere else in the UK.
Wales is at the sharp end
Two figures from the same report stand out for anyone selling here.
“Agreed sales were down 12% in Wales.”
That was the biggest fall of any UK nation or region. At the same time, higher mortgage rates and political uncertainty have been:
“pushing down demand from buyers in the UK by 15% compared with a year earlier.”
Fewer buyers, fewer sales agreed, and a backlog of homes that simply aren’t shifting. If you’ve watched your “for sale” board go up, then sit there through spring and into summer, the data now explains why.
(Source: BBC News — UK housing market figures, reporting Zoopla’s house price index.)
What estate agents will tell you to do next
Here is the part that’s hard to hear. Zoopla’s executive director Richard Donnell was clear about where this leaves people who are still waiting:
“For sellers still waiting for an offer, the conversation to have is about price.”
In plain English: drop your price. When a market is this slow, the only lever an estate agent really has is to ask you to accept less. You wait months for viewings, then — if an offer finally comes — it often arrives some way below the asking price you were promised. And even then the sale isn’t safe.
This is the frustration so many South Wales sellers are living through right now:
- Months on the market with no certainty. Six to twelve months end-to-end is normal even in a good market. In this current market, within the first six months of the year, three in five homes haven’t even sold at all.
- A price cut at the end of the wait. You hold out for the figure the agent quoted, then get told the “conversation is about price” — so you take less anyway, having lost half a year.
- Fall-throughs that reset the clock. Around a third of agreed sales collapse — a buyer’s mortgage is declined, a survey is used to renegotiate or the buyer pulls out as a result, or a chain breaks somewhere down the line. You go back to square one.
- Fees on top. Estate agent commission, your own legal fees, and months of carrying a house you’re trying to leave behind.
In a falling market, all of that risk sits with you — the seller.
A faster, more certain way out
We’re House Buyers Wales. We buy homes across South Wales directly, for cash. Founders David and Jason have been buying property for over 30 years. We exist for people who need to sell, not just list.
Here is what’s different:
- A genuine cash offer, fast. No waiting months for a buyer who may never come. We assess your property and make a no-obligation offer, usually within a day.
- Certainty — no chain, no mortgage, no survey renegotiation. We’re the buyer. There’s no chain to break and no lender to say no, so the sale doesn’t collapse at the last minute.
- You pick the date. Completion in as little as 7 to 28 days, or later if you’d rather. Our record is five days.
- No fees, no commission. We pay the legal costs, including yours. The figure we agree is the figure you keep — no agent’s percentage skimmed off the top.
- No price games at the eleventh hour. The offer we make is the offer we complete on. We don’t wait until you’re committed and then start “the conversation about price.”
We’re honest about the trade-off: a cash sale is below full open-market value, because you’re buying speed and certainty. But in a market where three in five homes aren’t selling and the alternative is a price cut after six months of waiting — that trade looks very different than it did a year ago.
Is the open market still right for you?
For some people, yes. If your home is in good condition, you’re in no rush, you’re not in a chain, and you can ride out a slow market for as long as it takes, an estate agent may still get you a higher final figure. We’ll always tell you straight if that’s your situation.
But if any of these are true, it’s worth a call:
- Your house has been listed for months with no firm offer.
- You need a definite sale by a definite date.
- You can’t afford for the sale to fall through.
- You’re carrying a property you’ve inherited, can’t maintain, or simply need to be free of.
The bottom line
The figures are clear: selling on the open market in Wales right now means joining a queue of unsold homes, and likely being asked to drop your price at the end of it. If you have the time, you can wait it out. If you don’t, there’s a faster, more certain route.
House Buyers Wales are South Wales’ #1 Trusted Property Cash Buyers — rated 5-stars by hundreds of real home sellers.
Don’t take our word for it: Read real customer reviews for House Buyers Wales →
Get your free cash offer → — 30 second enquiry form, no commitment, no pressure.
Or call 02920 001331 to speak to David or Jason, not a commission salesperson.
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