I'm sure if you looked you could have found isolated drops in asking prices at any time in the last five years. I'm aware of below asking bids that were accepted, certainly. A drop in an already inflated asking price doesn't on its own prove anything, that's my point.
And who said I was a bull?
Drops in asking prices are significant to me because they are happening in that sector of the market which *everyone* suggested would be okay because they were the high-ish end markets/trader uppers/in good locations. If asking prices are dropping at all, it can only be because the properties are not shifting.
Whilest I would say a drop in an inflated asking price doesn't prove anything, I have been intrigued that asking prices in my area, which generally went up between 10K and 20K for each new similar accommodation in a specific estate coming on the market, have run into a brick wall.
I'm not sure what would constitute "proof" to people who are convinced by softlandings and "you can't lose on property" - I'm not sure you even form part of that community. It seems to me that every single nail in that coffin is explained away by specialised "oh that case was overvalued anyway". The problem is, everything is overvalued by the market in this country, and that is not sustainable.
In any case, if you could have found "isolated" price drops at any time in the last 5 years, it is incumbant on you to prove it. The problem as I see it is that the number of price drops turning up here seems to be growing on a day to day basis. The market is in trouble, it seems. How much that trouble is caused by stamp duty related waiting and seeing and how much of it is caused by affordability barriers remains to be seen. The fact remains that there is a limit to the amount of money that people can spend on housing and while I cannot claim that it is now true that we have reached the limit, it would appear that options are starting to run low.
Clearly they must be. Property is hanging around on the market longer and desperate strategems are being applied. A year or so ago I told an estate agent I would put in an offer of AP-20K on some property and the response I got was a sarcastic laugh and a comment to the effect that he wouldn't even bother telling the seller about the offer because frankly, he was expecting to make AP+40K. Asking prices, you see, weren't reflections of what people wanted. They were just gimicks.
Now, they're gimicks in a different direction. Instead of understating the price, they're over stating it and in increasing numbers.
No, it doesn't prove anything at all...but it is an interesting change.