Property News

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) reports that an "uninspiring" housing market means that properties are taking longer to sell than they were only a year ago. Currently, there is eighteen weeks between the average property being listed for sale and being sold. This is two weeks more than in 2017. Moreover, the same report showed that June 2018 represented the sixteenth successive month of a decline in sales. The UK's biggest mortgage provider, Halifax, has released its own report tallying with these figures: it says that UK house prices rose by 1.8 per cent in the twelve months to June 2018, which is the slowest rise since March 2013. 

On the face of it, this is good news for many first time buyers, who may now be seeing home ownership coming within their means. However, with analysts predicting a rate rise for August, any confidence engendered by slowly dropping house prices may soon be eroded.

If you are contemplating selling your home and are worried by these reports, how should you respond?

Lies and statistics
A famous phrase highlights that statistics are, if not outright lies, prone to manipulation and appropriation. By adding colour and weight to flimsy or unsubstantiated arguments, statistics can sometimes become self-fulfilling. While no-one is doubting the truth of the figures released by RICS, Halifax and other similar institutions, it does bear remembering that the situation they reflect will not be true for every seller. In other words, some areas and individual properties will buck the trend. For some, their apparent good luck will be down to the wider geographical region. For others, it will be a case of "location trumps all". Still others will sell in the face of the statistics thanks to the size of their property, its condition or the price it is marketed at.

Geographical area
The eighteen weeks between putting a property on the market and it being sold is not a figure that is recognisable to sellers, buyers and property professionals in all areas of the UK. While the press is gradually filling with reports about the declining London market, especially in high-end areas such as Kensington and Chelsea, other areas in the country are flying under the radar. Edinburgh and Bristol continue to be two cities where the property market remain strong, seller confidence high and buyers ready to move quickly. At the other end of the scale (and discounting London), properties in Swansea and Liverpool take longer than the national average to sell.

Location
Heavily popularised by television programmes such as "Location Location Location", it has become almost a truism to state that a property's location can determine whether or not it sells - and how quickly. However, truism or not, some sellers still have cause to be thankful that the home they are selling is in a location desired by buyers. What makes a location perfect can be very specific indeed. It might be a school catchment area or ease of access to reliable public transport. However, often it is something less easy to define. Unpicked, it may prove to be a combination of factors that includes schools, hospitals, restaurants, entertainment facilities, crime levels, traffic levels, public transport, future development plans, and proximity to geographical features such as beaches or national parks. Few of these points matter to every buyer, but overall, they tend to create a desirable hotspot and the impression of a neighbourhood that is either "on the up" or is already "the place to be".

Property size
Many sellers hope that their property's size will trump its location. Indeed, enough buyers still choose to move some miles from their preferred area in order to secure a large enough property for there to be truth to this assumption. Although many of the UK's city centres represent some of its hottest property locations, much of the housing stock available there tends to be small terraces or one and two-bedroom flats. Neither of these are ideally suited to growing families, which is why many people decide to eschew location in favour of a bigger place to live. This continued need means that would-be sellers of larger properties can always retain hope that their home will appeal to potential buyers.

Property condition
As austerity continues to bite and most of us feel the pinch in our own bank accounts, potential buyers are increasingly keen not to have to spend money on bringing a property up to habitable standard. While the desire to find a bargain "doer-upper" still exists among some home hunters, there is a growing group of those looking for the perfect "turnkey" property. They may be happy to redecorate to ensure their new home reflects their personal tastes but new kitchens, roofs, windows or other refurbishment are expenses they prefer to avoid. If yours is a property that is well cared for and needs no major work, you are at an advantage. However, it goes without saying that the cautious buyer is likely to commission a full structural survey, so beware of attempting to use cosmetic touch-ups (such as painting over a damp wall) to conceal more substantial problems.

Price
"Everything will sell at the right price" is a phrase much touted by armchair property experts everywhere. It is true that an overpriced property will take longer - and perhaps forever - to sell. Meanwhile, a keenly priced property usually sells quickly and, thanks to the interest generated among buyers, sometimes for a higher than expected price. It pays to do your research when deciding on your selling price. Tempting as it may be, accepting the highest valuation may not bring you the result you seek. Seasoned sellers may suggest that pitching your property slightly under market value is the way to go.

Explore house values by postcode
When setting your selling price, investigating house values by postcode is a great way to ensure that you are along the right lines. It also allows you to spot and interpret selling trends. For example, do more properties sell at a particular time of year? Is there a greater demand for larger family homes in preference to smaller properties? Knowing the answer to these sort of questions will not change either your property or its location, but it can alter how and when you market it.

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