If you’re selling your house:
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 uncertain of their immediate future, they are reluctant to make decisions and do anything to change their current status quo. Don’t worry – the buyers who are really keen, will contact your agent and leave their details, so when this situation ends, you may have viewings straight away. Just check with your estate agent that interested parties’ contact details are being recorded.
Online interest – with everyone 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 Government have slashed the borrowing rate to the lowest in its 325-year history, some buyers may feel 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’ll undoubtedly get a better price for your home down the line.
Withdrawing from the market – in our opinion, there is currently no real benefit to taking your home off the market right now, so stick with it, but review the situation frequently with your estate agent. We’re currently talking to our clients often to make sure they feel supported in whatever decision they make, and also to ensure they are ready for a potential influx of viewers when the situation returns to normal, and we can start conducting viewings again.
If you’re buying a house
Lower competition – now there are less homes on the market, and 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, and also 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.
Can we help you?