One of the key factors of the health of the Stoke on
Trent property market is the number of properties for sale at any one time. The
issue with housing is that when demand goes up, unlike with a chocolate bar
factory, who can add a couple of hours overtime to increase supply/production
to satisfy demand, it takes a good 18 months to two years from planning
permission to someone moving into a home.
I have talked at length (and proved) in previous articles that we are
still not building enough homes in the long term in the Stoke on Trent area..
yet for the short term, a good indicator is the number of properties for sale
and how long they have been on the market.
How long a property has been on the market is
important as a guide to how the property market is performing – potential
buyers can always find this information on the Rightmove and Zoopla listings (if
you don’t know where – drop me an email or message and I can let you know).
So, let’s have a look at what is happening in Stoke
on Trent, both in terms of the number of properties for sale and how long they
have been on the market compared to a year ago, then discuss what that means
for the current state of play of the Stoke on Trent property market. So to
start, let’s look at the number of properties for sale in Stoke on Trent
compared to a year ago.
Interestingly, you
can see there has been a proportional increase of 28% in detached properties on
the market in Stoke on Trent, yet a 3% reduction in semi-detached property and
apartments.. overall in the last year there are the same number of properties
on the market in Stoke on Trent, compared to a year ago. Now, let’s look how
long they have been on the market ..
Interesting to see that the biggest drop in the number
of days on the market is detached houses, from 159 days to 140 days. Also, the
length of time an average Stoke on Trent property has been on the market has decreased
by 5% in the last year.
So what does this all mean for Stoke on Trent Buy To
let landlords and Stoke on Trent homeowners looking to buy and sell? Well, if you are thinking of selling, as the
number of properties on the market has remained the same and the length of time
Stoke on Trent properties are on the market has decreased – this is good news,
yet you still have to be mindful that realistic pricing is the key to get the
property sold.
There is an argument to suggest that property buyers see excessive
days on the market as an indication that the seller is becoming desperate to
sell because the property hasn’t sold. Buyers are also mindful to believe that
there might be something wrong with the home, a defect that caused other buyers
to pass it up. This can concern them when they view the property – if they view
it at all, as that possible and perhaps made-up defect is on their minds, even
if it is sub-consciously.
Normally, both assumptions
are wrong. A property can loiter on the market for several reasons. The most common
reason for a property sticking on the market is overvaluing or overpricing. In
an effort to get the property on the market, some estate agents may have deluded
the seller into believing the property was worth more than the property market
will bear. Don’t get me wrong, if you don’t ask, you don’t get and homeowners
naturally want to get the best price for their home, and so test the market.
Yet, if you aren’t getting a steady stream of viewers after a few weeks, then
that testing can back fire. You see, by setting the asking price too high to
see if they can find someone to pay that inflated price, then finding there is
nobody in the market that will pay the price, here lies the biggest trap for
house sellers on keeping the inflated asking prices for too long.
Sellers can also get stuck on an
asking price and they are willing to wait out the market until it catches
up to what they want for their property – yet we aren’t in that type of
property market at the moment. Consumer champion Which said that if you have to
reduce your asking price by 5% or more, it adds an extra 64 days to the sales
process meaning you might lose the property of your dreams.
Also,
I have seen countless times, house sellers insist on an inflated asking price,
reduce 12 weeks later, yet buyers think there is something wrong with it so the homeowner gets fed up and accepts a lower offer to get the property
sold, whereas if the house seller had gone onto the market at the right asking
price, they would get much nearer to what they deserve for their property.
So, if you are looking for a bargain to buy – all the Portals
(Rightmove, Zoopla and On The Market) allow you to search and sort by the
length of time on the market as well as the asking price.. who knows – there
could be a bargain waiting for you!
