If you are buying or selling a home right now, you’re probably feeling concerned and anxious about what’s going to happen with the housing market over the coming months.
Welcome
We are living in unprecedented times. You may be feeling uncertain about what you should be doing and wondering what you can do to mitigate any financial risk. In this post, we’ll explore what this uncertainty means for you and your family and explain exactly what you can do to best position yourselves when the housing market returns to normal.
“What should I do if I am selling?”
Viewings on hold – now that property viewings have been suspended, you may be worried about what this means for your moving plans. When people are less confident about their future, they are understandably reluctant to make decisions. Don’t worry – buyers who are really keen will contact your agent and leave their details. So when this situation ends, you may find that you have viewings straight away. Just check with your estate agent that interested parties’ contact details are being recorded.
Online interest – With so many of us at home right now, you may get a spike of browsers looking at your property online. Most browsers turn into buyers eventually, and this should mean the property market gets a bounce in a few months, so you need to be ready. Now that the Bank of England has reduced the borrowing rate to the lowest in its 325-year history, one could argue there’s never been a better time to buy a house.
Cheeky offers – we’ve certainly had some very low offers on some of our homes from buyers wanting to cash in on this uncertainty. If you really need to move now, and just can’t wait, you may be tempted to take a low offer, but if you can wait, you will get a better price.
Withdrawing from the market – in my opinion, there is currently no real benefit to taking your home off the market, so stick with it. My advice is to review the situation regularly with your estate agent. We’re currently talking to our clients to make sure they feel supported in whatever decision they make, and to ensure they are ready for a potential influx of viewers when the situation returns to normal, and we can start conducting viewings again.
“What should I do if I am buying?”
Lower competition – now there are fewer homes on the market, and therefore fewer buyers around to buy them – could this be the perfect time to buy your dream home?
Potentially lower house prices – those sellers who can afford to wait to sell their homes, will do so, relaunching once things are back to normal. However, there are some homeowners who have no choice but to sell and move house in the next couple of months, and these properties could well be discounted to attract a buyer quickly. You could find yourself buying at a reduced price if you are able to move fast, despite the current situation. This could especially be of interest to investors right now, as well as cash buyers.
Record low interest rates – great news for buyers using a mortgage to buy a home, now could be your best chance to secure a great deal on a mortgage, potentially saving yourself tens of thousands of pounds over the duration of the mortgage.
Virtual viewings – although viewings have been postponed, we offer an alternative method – a virtual viewing! A myriad of technological marvels means that we can virtually walk you around properties from the comfort of your own home. Once you are able to view the house in person, you can view a much-reduced shortlist of your favourite homes.
“What will happen to the property market over the coming months?”
There are around 25 million homes in the UK, and each year on average, 1.2 million of them sell. In other words, just under 5% of homes in the UK are sold every year. In Colchester there are an estimated 77,000 households, which means that there can be anything up to 3,500 property sales a year – that’s around 70 per week!
This means that when the lockdown is over, and things are getting back to normal, there will potentially be hundreds of homes that come onto the market, that would otherwise have launched during this ‘paused’ period. More homes on the market will lead to greater choice for you and your family and more potential buyers for your home. Look into my crystal ball, by June we hope to have some sense of normality, with the economy running at maybe 35-45%. By July and into August, I’d like to think the country will be starting to bounce back and beginning to spend again. As confidence improves, so does market momentum. I believe there will be a big resurgence of demand, and buyers wanting to move by Christmas, at the latest.
“What if I have already agreed to buy a house?”
If you are in the middle of buying a house, congratulations! I would recommend you proceed as planned, but perhaps check to see if you can get better mortgage terms than perhaps you were originally offered. Remember that house prices rise and fall periodically, which means that if you’re planning to stay in the property for more than say, two or three years, any risk is limited.
Can I help you?
If you have a burning question about your moving plans, or you need more clarity on some of these points. Whatever it is, I’m here to offer help. You can e-mail me personally @ grahamwood@hometorent.co.uk or call me on 07860 370807 if you’d like a confidential chat. I’ll give you clear, actionable advice on what to do in your specific situation – whether waiting or taking action is the best option for you.
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I hope this article helps, and look forward to hearing from you.