Property owners dropped their original asking price by an average of 15.5 per cent in 2014, a smaller reduction than in the previous two years, according to a leading estate agency.

In 2013, the gap between the asking price and the price real estate companies eventually accepted was 16.21 per cent, while in 2012 it was 23 per cent.

The figures only relate to one agency, Remax, but it is one with three times the presence of its closest competitor.

Gozo was not included as the numbers were smaller and might not be statistically significant. And they do not reflect properties sold directly or through a sensara (broker), which account for almost 60 per cent of property listings.

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