'Fierce competition' as some Suffolk homes sell for 20% over guide price

Homes in Suffolk are frequently selling for higher than guide price despite rapidly rising house prices – with as many as seven buyers competing for the same property.

Estate agents in Suffolk say some properties have sold for "in excess of 20% above the guide price" and, in one case, a property seven potential buyers were vying for the same home by best and final offers.

Bosses at Rightmove said average asking prices are more than 10% higher than a year ago and are being stoked by an imbalance between buyer demand and the number of properties available for sale.

There are now more than twice as many buyers as sellers active in the market according to the website, which it said is the biggest mismatch between supply and demand that it has ever recorded at this time of year.

Katy Stephenson, from the residential sales team at Savills Suffolk, said people were still being drawn to the county as they searched for space and a chance to live near the countryside or coast.

But, she said: "There’s simply not been enough properties on the market to meet demand. This has created fierce competition and consequently, prices have risen as a result.

"A large number of properties that we have sold this year have sold in excess of the guide price – that’s especially true for those in the most desirable areas such as Woodbridge, Aldeburgh, Southwold and surrounding villages, as well as further inland such as Framlingham, around Bury St Edmunds and the Dedham Vale."

Tim Dansie, director of Jackson-Stops in Ipswich, said: "There's a scarcity of stock and lots of people who are in a position where they can go ahead and buy – they've either sold and are in rented, or they've raised the cash. That's what is driving it. 

"As we get into the spring, more properties will come onto the market, there won't be quite as much of a scarcity and that will ease the pressure.

"But at the moment, there's not a lot of sign anything's coming through."