Our Advice To Sellers

Whilst the media are occupied with Brexit and triggering Article 50 the property market is quietly getting on with business as usual. Supply and demand which drives the market is still slightly balanced in favour of the seller, but only just, which means the market is sustainable, with current indications proving our predictions of a single digit annual growth being the likely outcome for the year.

Our advice to sellers is to seek good advice before putting your property on the market. Choose an agent who has a proven track record of sales in your area, one who shows you good marketing data and evidence of the properties which have recently sold, to show that your initial asking price is not above what the market will stand, meaning you get little initial interest. This is incredibly important as the property portals tell us that of the three most important things in presenting your property to the market (price, presentation and description) price is the most important and recent statistics from Rightmove have confirmed that the most interest you will receive on your property is within two weeks of the initial marketing. They also confirm properties that have been on the market for 41 days or more are highly likely to need a reduction in price in order to sell.

Once you have received an offer on your property, any agent worth their salt will negotiate the best outcome for you, ensuring the buyer has the wherewithal to buy and if there is a chain of other sellers ensuring the chain is complete. The next steps are just as important as securing a sale, if not more, and that is for your agent to progress the sale. With over 30% of initial sales falling through between agreed sale and exchange, your agent will have a massive influence on this and will need to be with you every step of the way, managing the expectations of the people in the chain as well as the solicitors and taking the sale through to exchange when it is legally binding.