What’s happening in the property market?

August 2020   |   Home Page   |   Back to articles
OUR team of in-house valuers is well-versed in everything to do with property prices from studying areas for price comparisons and fluctuations to understanding market activity and influences.

Over the next few weeks, we will be asking our valuers for valuable insight into their own regional property markets, which should prove useful to our housebuilder clients and those looking to buy or sell a home.  

We’ll also find out how they are adapting to valuing homes in a post-Covid world to help keep the property market moving and ensure housebuilders and home buyers can continue making plans.

We start our round-the-country tour in the South West and South Wales.

 

‘Better quality buyers’ and strong demand

 

Scott Windle is our regional valuer for the South West and South Wales region, operating from bases near Bristol and Cardiff.

Scott says: “This part of the country is currently showing a strong demand for properties and quality instructions are selling well and quickly. Wales has taken slightly longer to ‘bounce back’ but this is due to there being more restrictions in place that took longer to be lifted. 

“The main challenge in any circumstances, including the current climate, is managing sellers’ expectations and ensuring that we set the asking price at a competitive level; one that will give us the best chance of selling the property for a fair price and in a reasonable timeframe.”

Property Perspective prides itself on selling houses within a 40-day timeframe, 50% faster than national average time it takes to sell a home, meaning vendors can proceed with purchasing their new home much faster.

Scott believes Covid has impacted his region’s residential property market positively by making homeowners think hard about whether the home they are in is still the right one for their requirements: “The lengthy lockdown period has made people realise they may need more space in the house to suit their family needs or a larger garden for them to enjoy. We’re seeing a far better quality of the buyers for the homes we are selling and the buyers that want to view are serious about moving. They’ve definitely given it a lot of thought.”

Although Scott hasn’t noticed property prices reducing in his patch, generally he hasn’t seen an increase either: “There are of course always exceptions and I do think that quality, well presented properties are selling well and, in some cases, for more than the asking price.  I’d say there is currently more demand than supply and buyers don’t want to miss out.”

He adds that properties needing little or no work doing to them seem to be more popular and selling faster.

Property Perspective has adapted the valuation side of the business to cope with Covid so that the customers’ safety and that of the valuers is prioritised. 

“It’s important to limit the amount of time in the property and we do this by having a longer conversation on the phone prior to the appointment, explaining how our schemes work, our general approach and the help we can provide marketing of the property,” Scott explains.

“Once we are at the appointment, we are taking precautions such as wearing gloves and face coverings to minimise any risk.”

He also highlights another key safety aspect of Property Perspective having an in-house valuation team:  “Our competitors for Part Exchange and Assisted Sale schemes tend to be reliant on estate agents and will arrange for several valuations to be done on a single property. Because we have the experience and expertise to do that ourselves, there are fewer people visiting the property – which is better for the customer – and, of course, it means the turnaround of our reports to housebuilders is a lot quicker. “

Scott believes now is actually a great time to sell: “There is a strong demand for properties but a shortage of them coming onto the market, so we are finding we are achieving strong pricing. With the changes to Stamp Duty in England and Land Tax in Wales we are finding that there are a lot of buyers wanting to take advantage of the potential savings. 

“I have been pleasantly surprised by just how quickly the market has got moving again as there was a concern that there might have been a lull; thankfully this doesn’t seem to be the case so far, but we are monitoring market conditions constantly to make sure we stay on top of any changes.”

Housebuilders interested in knowing more about how Property Perspective can help to sell their customers’ homes through Part Exchange or Assisted Move can speak to our team today on 0161 929 3740 or email enquiries@thepropertyperspective.co.uk 

Those interesting in the wide range of second-hand properties we’re currently selling can search via our website: www.thepropertyperspective.co.uk

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