Set against the background of another difficult year for the
property market in 2011 it is hard to foresee any sort of real
improvement during the next 12 months. Last year the number of home
sales was still well below the pre-credit crunch levels and in many
areas the average price dropped back to 2009 levels or worse.
It is not difficult to identify where the problems lie for the
property market. The economy as a whole is struggling to cope with
the European banking crisis and the direct results of this are
tougher lending criteria, the requirement for much larger deposits,
high unemployment and insignificant if any increases in real
earnings for those of us who are lucky enough to have a job. The
cumulative effect of all of this is low consumer confidence at the
present moment.
Set against that ESPC figures actually show that the average
price in Edinburgh rose to £221,061 in the last quarter which is
3.5% higher than it was for the same period last year. The lower
end of the market (first time buyer territory) has undoubtedly
suffered the most and figures reveal that the average price at the
lower end has in fact dropped again. This has been offset to an
extent by the top end of the market where prices have continued to
increase slightly. Probably the strongest segment of the market is
what we would refer to as the middle-market. Sales of properties in
the price range from around £400-£700,000 seem to generate the
highest level of activity at the moment, in other words family
homes. Indeed sales in that price bracket increased by 5% last year
whereas the market as a whole dropped by 3%.
And here's another couple of interesting statistics. Currently
less than 1 in 4 properties are selling for their Home Report
valuation figure or above. That figure drops dramatically once a
property has been on the market for more than two months.
However in the strongest segment of the market (£400-700,000)
34% achieved Home Report valuation. Selling times in this price
bracket were also quicker at 109 days compared to an overall market
average last year of 138 days.
In every market however there will be exceptions and if you
employ a good agent, get the marketing strategy right and price
your property competitively you can generate enough interest to
allow you to set a Closing Date. At Hunters in the month of January
we can report increased sales compared to the same month last year,
an increase in the number of properties going to the market and
some spectacular results such as a property selling for £70,000
above the asking price in less than 2 weeks. So despite the general
atmosphere of doom and gloom all is not lost.
My top 5 tips for sellers are:-
- Price sensibly
- Be realistic in your expectations and remember that although
you may not get what you would have liked for your won property you
probably won't need to pay what you expected for the next one.
- Take expert advice when it comes to the marketing - appoint a
pro-active agent like Hunters.
- Don't wait to go to the market. If all expert predictions are
correct (and let's hope they are not) the market could continue to
fall.
- Sell before you buy.
