House prices in England fall for first time since 2012

Slide driven by London and south-east slowdown as Brexit chaos seems to put off buyers

House prices fell in England for the first time in seven years in the first three months of 2019, dragged lower by the traditional property hotspots of London and the south-east in a sign that Brexit turmoil is putting off buyers.

Prices fell 0.7% in the first quarter, compared with the same period in 2018, taking the average price of a home in England down to £255,683, according to the mortgage lender Nationwide.

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Loads of viewings but no offers – why?

Sometimes it seems that every weekend sees you tidying, vacuuming and getting rid of the dogs yet again, but come Monday, it’s the same old story – they aren’t interested. I spoke to a gentleman recently who had had 30 viewings on his house over only a three month period, but not only had no one offered on the house, not a single viewer had booked a second viewing. Statistically, we know that a house sells on average after around 15 viewings, but during this time, there should be at least 2 or 3 second viewings, and usually a low offer or two. So after 30 viewings, this gentleman should have had say, 5 second viewings and three offers, of which the last should have been high enough for him to accept. Something is clearly not right – but what?

• The marketing materials could be misleading. Perhaps the wrong aspects of the house are being promoted, such as a photograph of the back of the house used as the leading image; a very wide-angled lens used in property photography can make small rooms look vast, or maybe an important feature, such as the fact that the house is next to a school or has no garden, has not been mentioned in the description at all. Your marketing materials (brochure, online advert, photography) all need to be flattering, but not misleading.

• Maybe your agent is being over-enthusiastic, and pressing everyone, no matter how unsuitable, to come to view. Be selective – only allow viewers who are in a position to actually buy the house, so then even if you have less buyers wanting to view, at least your viewings will all be of a high quality.

• Make sure that your agent is seeking full and frank feedback from your viewers. A comment of “not for us” is not helpful. Impress upon him the importance of being aware of any issues, particularly those which you can do something about.

• Engage a home stager. A professional expert with a dispassionate viewpoint can often identify problems that are easy and inexpensive to rectify. A beautifully presented home that has been staged especially for photography and viewings will set you head and shoulders above the competition.

Too many viewings is a much easier problem to deal with than no viewings, and is a positive measure of how many buyers are looking for a property of your type, location and price range. Now all you need to do is attract that one viewer who actually wants to buy your house!

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.

What to read next: Smartphones – making your listing stand out 

What to do next: Sign up to my Selling Secrets http://www.home-truths.co.uk/selling-secrets

The post Loads of viewings but no offers – why? appeared first on Home Truths.

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When every penny counts

Are you downsizing?

If you’re at that time of your life when you’re currently rattling around in a house that’s too big for you, that is consuming more time, effort and money than you want to give it, you may have decided it’s time to move on to the next chapter in your life. Perhaps you have your heart set on a cottage in the hills, a coastal retreat or just being closer to the family.

Your home may well be your most valuable asset, and when you’re hoping to make a new life for yourselves, and at the same time make sure you have a nest egg to fall back on, it’s vital you realise your home’s financial potential. Here are some of my suggestions to make sure that you leave your lovely home with enough money to make your move worthwhile:

• Tell your estate agent – make sure they know how important your sale price is, and that achieving as close as possible to this is your primary goal; more important in fact, than selling quickly.

• Allow negotiation room – make sure you pitch your asking price with enough of a differential between it, and the price you hope eventually to achieve. Try to resist the temptation of ‘testing’ the market at a higher price for a short time, as this strategy rarely works. Instead, do your research and set your price, then stick to it. Remember too that current asking price to sale ratios are at around 95% at best.

• Stage your home – if you’ve lived in your home for more than 15 years, unless you’ve updated it regularly, chances are its interior may not be as up to date as today’s buyers expect. Whilst commissioning the services of a professional home stager may cost you a few hundred pounds, this will almost certainly prove to be a very worthwhile investment, and avoid buyers making low offers on the basis that your house is too dated for them.

• Have confidence in your asking price – if you don’t, how do you expect your buyer and your estate agent to?! Be firm with your estate agent if he tries to persuade you to drop the price, and be equally firm – but fair – with your buyers when they make an offer.

Make sure you implement these four steps, and you’ll be embarking on your exciting new chapter with some pennies in your pocket to enjoy it.

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.

What to read next: 3 things to do today to get your home sold

What to do next: Sign up to my Selling Secrets http://www.home-truths.co.uk/selling-secrets

The post When every penny counts appeared first on Home Truths.

from Home Truths https://ift.tt/2WvDoJf
via IFTTT

Loads of viewings but no offers – why?

Sometimes it seems that every weekend sees you tidying, vacuuming and getting rid of the dogs yet again, but come Monday, it’s the same old story – they aren’t interested. I spoke to a gentleman recently who had had 30 viewings on his house over only a three month period, but not only had no one offered on the house, not a single viewer had booked a second viewing. Statistically, we know that a house sells on average after around 15 viewings, but during this time, there should be at least 2 or 3 second viewings, and usually a low offer or two. So after 30 viewings, this gentleman should have had say, 5 second viewings and three offers, of which the last should have been high enough for him to accept. Something is clearly not right – but what?

• The marketing materials could be misleading. Perhaps the wrong aspects of the house are being promoted, such as a photograph of the back of the house used as the leading image; a very wide-angled lens used in property photography can make small rooms look vast, or maybe an important feature, such as the fact that the house is next to a school or has no garden, has not been mentioned in the description at all. Your marketing materials (brochure, online advert, photography) all need to be flattering, but not misleading.

• Maybe your agent is being over-enthusiastic, and pressing everyone, no matter how unsuitable, to come to view. Be selective – only allow viewers who are in a position to actually buy the house, so then even if you have less buyers wanting to view, at least your viewings will all be of a high quality.

• Make sure that your agent is seeking full and frank feedback from your viewers. A comment of “not for us” is not helpful. Impress upon him the importance of being aware of any issues, particularly those which you can do something about.

• Engage a home stager. A professional expert with a dispassionate viewpoint can often identify problems that are easy and inexpensive to rectify. A beautifully presented home that has been staged especially for photography and viewings will set you head and shoulders above the competition.

Too many viewings is a much easier problem to deal with than no viewings, and is a positive measure of how many buyers are looking for a property of your type, location and price range. Now all you need to do is attract that one viewer who actually wants to buy your house!

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.

What to read next: Smartphones – making your listing stand out 

What to do next: Sign up to my Selling Secrets http://www.home-truths.co.uk/selling-secrets

The post Loads of viewings but no offers – why? appeared first on Home Truths.

from Home Truths https://ift.tt/2xbBlCC
via IFTTT

When every penny counts

Are you downsizing?

If you’re at that time of your life when you’re currently rattling around in a house that’s too big for you, that is consuming more time, effort and money than you want to give it, you may have decided it’s time to move on to the next chapter in your life. Perhaps you have your heart set on a cottage in the hills, a coastal retreat or just being closer to the family.

Your home may well be your most valuable asset, and when you’re hoping to make a new life for yourselves, and at the same time make sure you have a nest egg to fall back on, it’s vital you realise your home’s financial potential. Here are some of my suggestions to make sure that you leave your lovely home with enough money to make your move worthwhile:

• Tell your estate agent – make sure they know how important your sale price is, and that achieving as close as possible to this is your primary goal; more important in fact, than selling quickly.

• Allow negotiation room – make sure you pitch your asking price with enough of a differential between it, and the price you hope eventually to achieve. Try to resist the temptation of ‘testing’ the market at a higher price for a short time, as this strategy rarely works. Instead, do your research and set your price, then stick to it. Remember too that current asking price to sale ratios are at around 95% at best.

• Stage your home – if you’ve lived in your home for more than 15 years, unless you’ve updated it regularly, chances are its interior may not be as up to date as today’s buyers expect. Whilst commissioning the services of a professional home stager may cost you a few hundred pounds, this will almost certainly prove to be a very worthwhile investment, and avoid buyers making low offers on the basis that your house is too dated for them.

• Have confidence in your asking price – if you don’t, how do you expect your buyer and your estate agent to?! Be firm with your estate agent if he tries to persuade you to drop the price, and be equally firm – but fair – with your buyers when they make an offer.

Make sure you implement these four steps, and you’ll be embarking on your exciting new chapter with some pennies in your pocket to enjoy it.

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.

What to read next: 3 things to do today to get your home sold

What to do next: Sign up to my Selling Secrets http://www.home-truths.co.uk/selling-secrets

The post When every penny counts appeared first on Home Truths.

from Home Truths https://ift.tt/2WvDoJf
via IFTTT

Loads of viewings but no offers – why?

Sometimes it seems that every weekend sees you tidying, vacuuming and getting rid of the dogs yet again, but come Monday, it’s the same old story – they aren’t interested. I spoke to a gentleman recently who had had 30 viewings on his house over only a three month period, but not only had no one offered on the house, not a single viewer had booked a second viewing. Statistically, we know that a house sells on average after around 15 viewings, but during this time, there should be at least 2 or 3 second viewings, and usually a low offer or two. So after 30 viewings, this gentleman should have had say, 5 second viewings and three offers, of which the last should have been high enough for him to accept. Something is clearly not right – but what?

• The marketing materials could be misleading. Perhaps the wrong aspects of the house are being promoted, such as a photograph of the back of the house used as the leading image; a very wide-angled lens used in property photography can make small rooms look vast, or maybe an important feature, such as the fact that the house is next to a school or has no garden, has not been mentioned in the description at all. Your marketing materials (brochure, online advert, photography) all need to be flattering, but not misleading.

• Maybe your agent is being over-enthusiastic, and pressing everyone, no matter how unsuitable, to come to view. Be selective – only allow viewers who are in a position to actually buy the house, so then even if you have less buyers wanting to view, at least your viewings will all be of a high quality.

• Make sure that your agent is seeking full and frank feedback from your viewers. A comment of “not for us” is not helpful. Impress upon him the importance of being aware of any issues, particularly those which you can do something about.

• Engage a home stager. A professional expert with a dispassionate viewpoint can often identify problems that are easy and inexpensive to rectify. A beautifully presented home that has been staged especially for photography and viewings will set you head and shoulders above the competition.

Too many viewings is a much easier problem to deal with than no viewings, and is a positive measure of how many buyers are looking for a property of your type, location and price range. Now all you need to do is attract that one viewer who actually wants to buy your house!

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.

What to read next: Smartphones – making your listing stand out 

What to do next: Sign up to my Selling Secrets http://www.home-truths.co.uk/selling-secrets

The post Loads of viewings but no offers – why? appeared first on Home Truths.

from Home Truths https://ift.tt/2xbBlCC
via IFTTT

When every penny counts

Are you downsizing?

If you’re at that time of your life when you’re currently rattling around in a house that’s too big for you, that is consuming more time, effort and money than you want to give it, you may have decided it’s time to move on to the next chapter in your life. Perhaps you have your heart set on a cottage in the hills, a coastal retreat or just being closer to the family.

Your home may well be your most valuable asset, and when you’re hoping to make a new life for yourselves, and at the same time make sure you have a nest egg to fall back on, it’s vital you realise your home’s financial potential. Here are some of my suggestions to make sure that you leave your lovely home with enough money to make your move worthwhile:

• Tell your estate agent – make sure they know how important your sale price is, and that achieving as close as possible to this is your primary goal; more important in fact, than selling quickly.

• Allow negotiation room – make sure you pitch your asking price with enough of a differential between it, and the price you hope eventually to achieve. Try to resist the temptation of ‘testing’ the market at a higher price for a short time, as this strategy rarely works. Instead, do your research and set your price, then stick to it. Remember too that current asking price to sale ratios are at around 95% at best.

• Stage your home – if you’ve lived in your home for more than 15 years, unless you’ve updated it regularly, chances are its interior may not be as up to date as today’s buyers expect. Whilst commissioning the services of a professional home stager may cost you a few hundred pounds, this will almost certainly prove to be a very worthwhile investment, and avoid buyers making low offers on the basis that your house is too dated for them.

• Have confidence in your asking price – if you don’t, how do you expect your buyer and your estate agent to?! Be firm with your estate agent if he tries to persuade you to drop the price, and be equally firm – but fair – with your buyers when they make an offer.

Make sure you implement these four steps, and you’ll be embarking on your exciting new chapter with some pennies in your pocket to enjoy it.

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.

What to read next: 3 things to do today to get your home sold

What to do next: Sign up to my Selling Secrets http://www.home-truths.co.uk/selling-secrets

The post When every penny counts appeared first on Home Truths.

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via IFTTT