It’s a strange time in the property market; there’s a lot of wait and see what happens while we tread a political and economical tightrope. There’s the Brexit factor where those in favour of staying suggest a vote to leave will catastrophically affect the housing market. Then there’s the fact that Stamp Duty increases for the buy-to-let sector caused a surge in that market in March. There is also the idea that uncertainty in Far Eastern markets has caused a dip in the Prime and high end markets – particularly in London. Yet what all these arguments do not account for is that we are still a growing population with a chronic shortage of homes and a development sector that is unable and/or unwilling to keep up with demand for appropriate housing.
So, in short, we find ourselves in a bizarre situation where both demand and supply are fairly low. How do you handle this if you now want to move on to a bigger and better home, or want to relocate? Simply, you need to price competitively. Nothing stimulates demand more than a seemingly good deal; think how often you’ve bought something because the price looked good. This doesn’t mean selling cheap, but have a look at the competition on the market and consider selling for a tiny bit less than your competitors. You’ll sell, they won’t. And because you’re already on the property ladder it is all relative – you may not get that record high for the street that was on the table last year, but you won’t be paying that record high for the next place that you may have had to last year.
And here’s the really good news; it looks very much as though this is just a dip. As said earlier, supply across the South East is still low, demand will recover, and you’ll soon make back that bit less you got for your current home on your new home.
If you want an accurate price and sound marketing strategy for your property call James on 01273 622664 or email [email protected] for a free valuation.
Read the Telegraph’s report on RICs latest survey here