NESBITS

Jackie Evans

Idon’t know if you’re a film fan but in the classic movie Papillon, there’s a wonderful line where Steve McQueen looks out his cell porthole and says to a fellow inmate “How do I look?” You may be wondering why I’m opening with this but a good question people are asking of the property market is “How do I look?” What sort of condition is the market in?

Never a day goes by where the media isn’t speculating on the property market, interest rates seem to be going up monthly! It’s been a tough start to the year. Prices have gone down slightly and, as seems to be the case for the past couple of years, sales that are progressing are doing so very slowly. Buyers seem to be in short supply as the cost of finance is, for some, prohibitive at this time. However, it’s not all bad news. We are still selling. Where vendors are choosing to be pragmatic with their sale prices, we are seeing this rewarded with early interest from buyers. There never has been a time where realism is more needed. Last year’s break in Stamp Duty artificially inflated the market resulting in a scramble for properties which led to lots of buyers being disappointed. This year’s more realistic property market allows buyers to perhaps negotiate in their favour without the unnecessary bidding against others and the risk of losing out.

Is now a good time to sell? If you are looking to match last year’s levels, then perhaps not. Consider also that the price of what you are selling will be offset against the price of what you are buying. For some, selling is a necessity because of a variety of factors; new job, bigger property, smaller property, relocation etc.

Should we be putting prices on property that have absolutely no chance of being achieved? Definitely not!

We are seeing quite a number of properties that are being reduced on the property portals and once a property has been on the market for a lengthy period of time, it is more difficult to sell. There is an optimum time for success to be achieved — when a property is first launched to the market. The longer a property remains unsold, the more ‘stale’ it becomes, and the harder it is to sell.

In any market it is vital that vendors seek proper professional advice. In the current market, this is doubly true.

I can’t leave without letting you know the response to Steve McQueen’s question… ”You look swell, just swell”.

Jackie Evans has been with Nesbits for 24 years, with the company celebrating over 100 years of trading. Contact the team to discuss your property journey today.