Sellers need to be more proactive, Rightmove says

Homeowners looking to sell should take affirmative steps to deal positively with the property slump, suggests an expert.

Miles Shipside, commercial director for the property website Rightmove, claims that people who cannot sell their property are likely to "blame the market" rather than the selling price.

Private property owners that are not under financial pressure to sell are likely to hang around but then they get disillusioned and lose motivation, causing the property and the seller to become stale, he adds.

"People who are prepared to wait longer, I am sure they become disillusioned and blame the market whereas actually they need to be a bit more proactive to sell," he comments.

According to the October 2008 Zoopla! survey, 97.3 per cent of properties in the UK have seen their value decline in the past year but 30 per cent of those surveyed think the value of their home will increase over the next 12 months.