August 13, 2008 – 2:04 pm
According to claims from estate agents, it appears that the stamp duty leak is impacting on property sales as would be buyers wait and see what the Government does.
The trouble is, we’re not going to find out what Mr Darling has in store for us until the Pre-Budget Report in the autumn.
As if the housing market didn’t need any more challenges - along comes this little chestnut. Sales that were about to exchange are allegedly being delayed as buyers wait. The prospect of saving 20,000 pounds from a £500,000 property clearly is getting the better of people.
So what to do? This is not time to sticking to laurels - the cat is out of the bag. The public need to know one way or the other - and quickly.
So you’re wanting to sell?And the market is, well - flat? Can you sell? Will you sell? Here are our tips for selling in the current climate.
Selling your property currently takes a steely nerve and a healthy reality check. But, with the right outlook, the right price and the right attitude - deals are still being done.
Look around you - what are similar houses on the market for? Are they moving? The houses that are selling are the houses that are priced to sell - and some of these properties will sell quickly - as the cash buyers lurk in the shadows, waiting for the right price to pounce.
The rest will remain unsold - with a lot of people still holding on to their dream Summer 2007 valuation - times have changed - and so must the price being asked.
Rightmove seem to think that realistic asking prices are 10% below the Summer 2007 price point. That means if you were valued at 600,000 back then - you’re worth 540,000 now. So look at the properties that are available for 540,000 in your neighbourhood - what’s the competition like?
If there are three or four comparable properties in the same area in the same price range and they’re not selling you may want to consider a further adjustment. Maybe another 5%? How would you compare then?
The simple fact is that this is a buyer’s market - and you must do what you can do to gain their attention.
Like most adults, we at Buyitprivately.com we have more than a mildly obsessive interest with the state of the housing market.
We look at blogs, price indices and news sites on a day to day basis.Barely a day goes by without the media rallying in one feverish direction - “House prices have gone up!” screams The Express, just as the rest of the press has finally decided that the crash has arrived.
But it appears that nobody is championing the middle ground - and it is a simple fact of the life that whilst the market has slowed down and potentially stands before a precipice, as I write this article prices are still relatively stable.
As I have written before, houses are still selling - just in smaller numbers. And the properties that are selling are the properties that are priced realistically.
I know the buyers are out there - there are still plenty of people surfing this website for example. The dip is barely noticeable. And I have a feeling that there are a large number of people waiting to pounce - if market conditions improve.
The problem is that as a nation our perception of our personal wealth has been determined by unsustainably high property price increases. As the value of our property has gone up, so we have all become more frivolous with our personal expenditure.
Thus, estate agents could be partly to blame, of course. Buyers, still desperate to hang on to their Summer 07 valuation are not being given the reality check that’s needed to move property in a market like this. The supply of property is still relatively low (though nothing like as the shortage of last year) so competition between agencies is fierce - and with that comes the overpriced valuation.So, 2008. The party may be over - but the business of selling property continues despite the headlines. And right now, it’s the realistically priced properties that are selling.
