Seasons greetings to all our visitors and vendors.
News, views and advice
Categories
Pages
Archives
Stamp Duty holiday - slowing sales further?
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.
The price is right - or is it?
July 24, 2008 – 2:18 pm
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.