Summer moves hot up as more stock comes to the market
By Charlie Higgs – Owner of Village Properties
As summer temperatures continue to rise, the heat wave has brought a surge of new properties to the local Reading market. And despite the continued gloomy predictions of the media, the current economic climate seems not to have dampened buyer demand, which still remains active.
Having been selling property in the Reading area for more than 25 years, I shouldn’t be surprised by the speed of change in the property business. Although having been bemoaning the lack of available stock for the past 12 months, the sudden influx of new property coming on to the local market is unexpected.
This is great news for local buyers that have been struggling to find a new home during the buying frenzy of recent months. And in spite of the current uncertainty in the economy as a whole, surprising, buyer demand remains strong and is seemingly bucking the more general economic trend.
The National Trend
Rightmove’s recently published national ‘House price index’ confirms that this month has seen the fifth consecutive monthly price rise this year, modest by recent levels at 0.3%, but any further increase in property prices was not expected.
The ‘House price index’ also reported that valuation requests from people thinking of selling were at the highest level recorded so far this year and much higher than in 2021. They confirm the number of valuation requests in the week beginning 20 June was the most since January and beat last year’s figure for the same period by 24%.
I’ve given up trying to predict the property market but when you consider that after five consecutive interest rate rises and the increasing cost of living, added to the negative media speculation, the expectation was that we would begin to see the market ease.
Buyer demand nationally for new homes coming to the market also remains high, at more than double (+113%) of the pre-pandemic five-year May average.
The ‘House price index’ does suggest that there are early signs that the market will ease over the coming months, when the impact of the economic slowdown begins to take its toll. Although, many have been predicting this for much of this year, and as previously reported, we have just had an incredibly strong first half of the year.
So for those currently considering a move, my advice is to make hay whilst the sun shines…
Sellers Survey
In research also carried out by Rightmove, some 2,500 prospective sellers were surveyed, and the results of the survey showed sellers are much more interested in agents being responsive than in giving the highest valuation.
Prospective vendors value agents being responsive (87%), presenting their properties professionally in advertising (86%), and being knowledgeable about local markets (84%) more than having the lowest fees (32%) or providing the highest valuation (21%) for their home.
Choosing an estate agent
Choosing the best agent to sell your home can be difficult, some owners will simply choose the agent that values their home the highest and offers the lowest fee. This strategy is tempting for the owner as we all want the highest price and pay the lowest fee.
The Rightmove sellers survey is interesting, as we still see those that choose to sell their homes through cut-price online agents, often with slick TV advertising campaigns, that tempt the unsuspecting homeowner to use their low-fee offering.
In the main, most people understand the principle behind the proverb, you get what you pay for. This is never more true when it comes to selling your home, this is almost certainly the biggest, highest value asset you are likely to own. I would, and often do ask, is it really worth taking the chance…
Marketing your home to achieve the best price is not simply about listing it on the internet and hoping for the best. Common sense suggests that to achieve the best price for your home it must get exposure to the largest pool of potential buyers.
Village properties have been selling homes in Reading and the surrounding areas since 1980, we have a pretty good understanding of the intricacies involved in attracting that one perfect buyer.
With prominent High Street office locations in Tilehurst and Twyford, a fantastic website focused on attracting buyers from across the internet, we feature in major property portals like Rightmove for the specific areas we cover. We have a dedicated team of directors and staff that are all experts in their field, with a thorough understanding of the types of property and locations across our area, as well as a network of professional contacts developed over 40 years. Our business is focused on ensuring we have every possible potential buyer looking for a new home in the area.
A proper estate agent’s service is much more than value and fee, if your property is correctly marketed, the price achieved will be the best possible price, as every sales opportunity will have been exhausted, every possible interested buyer will have viewed and the resulting offers will be the highest achievable at that time…
The result of correct and proper marketing guarantees the highest value, and for our clients, that’s worth paying a fair and reasonable fee.
Considering Selling Your Home?
If you are thinking of selling your home in Tilehurst, Twyford or the surrounding areas of Reading, please call me to arrange an informal conversation about how we might help you with this.
You can also book a Face to Face Valuation, or use our Instant Online Valuation tool.