The fastest-selling housing markets, the Easter spike in homes put up for sale, and the 10 most in-demand areas of
Buying agents excel at gaining access to houses of which there’s nary a whisper on the market.
‘Most clients come via word of mouth,’ says Guy Meacock, director of Prime Purchase. ‘The wealthy are used to getting advice, based on experience. Shouldn’t that be even more the case when it comes to your home?’
In the mid and upper echelons of the housing market, buying agents are familiar faces, quietly navigating highs and lows on behalf of their clients. In the Cotswolds prime country-house market, for example, 50% of transactions above £2 million involve buying agents. This proportion rises to 80% for homes of £10 million and over, says Jonathan Bramwell, head of The Buying Solution.
An ability to scour the market for time-pressed buyers is one of the buying agent’s trump cards, complemented by local knowledge and a little black book of contacts. Often, they come up with homes that are marketed discreetly — or not at all; 67% of houses bought via Prime Purchase last year were off-market, says Mr Meacock.
‘We know the best houses in the region and we can create opportunities,’ adds Mr Bramwell. ‘There are the so-called Ds that drive the housing market — death, debt and divorce — and we are (sadly) plugged into that.’ And although ‘we get clients through the doors before anyone else,’ adds Jamie Freeman, director at Haringtons UK, ‘our biggest value add is to ensure access to the whole market, so no stone is left unturned’.
Once a property is found, the buying agent’s role includes assessing its value and negotiating the deal. They act purely for the buyer, whereas the selling agent represents the seller. This is where they really prove their worth, says Henry Pryor of Pryor & Co. ‘A buying agent can evaluate a suitable property dispassionately, because we haven’t fallen in love with it.’ Nigel Bishop of Recoco Property Search agrees. ‘Buying agents are often in a stronger position to secure a property below the seller’s asking price, as they are quickly able to spot weak points.’
There are good discounts to be had in the housing market, too, adds Jason Corbett of Rowallan Buying Agents, with ‘many sellers lowering their expectations’. In short, buying agents hold their client’s hand throughout the process. ‘We want to ensure that the right price is paid and we make it through to completion,’ says Mr Freeman.
Not merely the preserve of the rich, although clients are ‘often well-known personalities or influential business people, increasingly, they are normal families that might be relocating from abroad or simply value a good-quality service,’ explains Mr Corbett. Either way, ‘many clients don’t want people to know their business and, if discretion is lacking, it’s best to avoid that agent’.
Some buying agents are easy to find, such as those owned by major estate agents, (Prime Purchase is Savills’s, The Buying Solution is Knight Frank’s and so on); others are smaller scale. The best way to find a good one is through recommendations. Mr Bishop advises buyers to look for someone ‘who really understands their requirements and with whom they feel comfortable. Experience is the most important factor, says Mr Corbett — ‘followed closely by industry connections’.
‘There are a lot of desktop buying agents and a lot of brokers trying to buy and sell,’ adds Mr Meacock. ‘But in terms of pure-breed buying agents who do only that, there are still very few. We can probably count on two hands the number of companies that we would consider viable competition.’
Of course, a buying agent’s service comes at a price. They often charge a retainer fee and commission based on the purchase price, between 1.5% to 3%, plus VAT. Other cost structures include ‘pay as you go’ and fixed fees. Either way, ‘we often save far more than our fee,’ says Mr Meacock.
Where downsizers can unlock the most (and least), why 26% of sellers have been gazundered, and more. Annabel Dixon runs
Temperatures may be falling outside but the housing market appears to be warming up. Annabel Dixon lifts the lid on
Where downsizers can unlock the most (and least), why 26% of sellers have been gazundered, and more. Annabel Dixon runs through what you need to know in the world of bricks and mortar.
Had a busy week? We know the feeling, so we’ve cherry picked five property-related stories that have hit the news in recent days.
Downsizers can free up more than £1,200 a month (but beware the north-south divide)
Sitting pretty after years of house price growth? You could give your retirement pot ‘a significant boost’ by downsizing, according to a report from Savills that won’t do anything good for the tension between Baby Boomers and Millennials in the great house price debate.
Its research shows that homeowners across England and Wales could unlock an average £305,090 by downsizing from a four-bedroom home to a two-bedroom one.
Based on the assumption that the average 65-year-old could live for another 20-odd years, that property windfall works out at £1,218 a month tax-free for the rest of their life.
Lucian Cook, head of residential research at Savills, says: ‘Those approaching, or having already reached, retirement age have been some of the biggest beneficiaries of house price growth.
‘By moving to a property that better suits their needs, downsizers — particularly those in high value locations — can give themselves retirement funding a significant boost, particularly vital in the face of rising living costs.’
But before you hoist a ‘For Sale’ sign on your house, it’s worth noting that the gains are not evenly spread across the country. Cook says the analysis ‘lays bare the north-south divide’ when it comes to scaling down.
Homeowners in London could free up the most equity by downsizing, releasing £2,523 a month. That’s three times more than those in the north east, who could unlock the least, at £826 a month. Londoners are followed by homeowners in the south east, who could generate £1,485 a month by downsizing.
‘Those who live in typically more affluent areas in London and the south east have the option to use housing equity to make a meaningful contribution to retirement income, despite typically having slightly longer life expectancies,’ Cook explains.
‘For those in the Midlands and the north there is far less to be gained by downsizing and they’re therefore likely to leave downsizing until later in life, if indeed they downsize at all.’
A quarter of sellers gazundered
No seller likes to have a buyer chip away at the price they’ve agreed. But it’s been an all-too-familiar scenario lately if Open Property Group’s research is anything to go by.
A quarter (26%) of sellers have been gazundered in the last 12 months. And a third of those were subjected to it in the fortnight before they were due to exchange contracts, according to the quick sale firm.
Open Property Group’s survey of 1,001 people who have sold a home in the last year shows that the main reasons for chipping the price were issues thrown up by a property survey (35%) and buyers ‘chancing their arm’ (24%).
A whopping 78% of gazundered sellers accepted the lower offer, a sign of the buyer’s market that Zoopla reported last year.
Gazundering is ‘certainly more prevalent in cooler market conditions, such as those we’ve seen develop over the last year,’ explains Open Property Group CEO Jason Harris-Cohen.
We’re only a few weeks into 2024 but could an improving picture in the housing market keep a lid on gazundering?
And in other news…
- Selling a home in the UK takes almost three times longer than it does in the US. The UK is ‘by far’ the slowest place to transact (183 days), followed by Spain (152 days). Meanwhile, the best place for a quick sale is the US (69 days), followed by Canada (90 days). Home Sale Pack analysed the average time it takes to offload a home in 10 of the world’s busiest housing markets.
- Rental growth in January was at its slowest pace for 13 months and was in single digits for the first time in six months, according to Hamptons. Average rents on new lettings across Britain climbed 8.3 year-on-year. ‘While rental growth is slowing from record levels, it’s set to remain sticky, running ahead of inflation for the remainder of 2024’, the estate agent says.
- Asking prices of homes listed for sale this month have climbed £3,091 (0.9%) to £362,839, according to Rightmove. It follows six months of annual price falls. The number of sales agreed as well as buyer and seller activity are also up on last year.
Temperatures may be falling outside but the housing market appears to be warming up. Annabel Dixon lifts the lid on
Credit: Getty Images
The latest figures from Halifax are a step in the right direction, but there is plenty of uncertainty and negative
The inside track on London’s high-end housing market, how buyers are bagging an £18k discount off their next home, and
Credit: Getty Images
Despite choppy economic waters in the housing market, their main motivation for upping sticks are lifestyle factors, according to Savills.
The latest figures from Halifax are a step in the right direction, but there is plenty of uncertainty and negative pressures in the market.
The average house price in the UK has risen for the fourth consecutive month, according to the latest figures published by Halifax bank. The average house price is now £291,029, a monthly change of 1.3% and some 2.5% higher than this time last year.
Responding to the news, a variety of agents, lenders and analysts were cautiously optimistic on the news, with Halifax themselves warning against being too optimistic. ‘While housing activity has increased over recent months, interest rates remain elevated compared to the historic lows seen in recent years and demand continues to exceed supply,’ said Kim Kinnaird, director at Halifax Mortgages.
‘Looking ahead, affordability challenges are likely to remain and further modest falls should not be ruled out, against a backdrop of broader uncertainty in the economic environment,’ he added.
In a post on X (formerly known as Twitter), the i’s housing correspondent Victoria Spratt noted that the Halifax data is a nationwide average. Prices in the south east of England, for example, have fallen by -2.3 %, with the highest growth being recorded in Northern Ireland — an area where house prices had been low.
‘This is data from just one mortgage provider,’ she adds, ‘It can only tell us about homes which have mortgages on them. Not cash sales from, say, auctions.’ She notes that both ‘HMRC and the Bank of England’s data are still showing that housing market is slow’ and that the number of mortgage approvals remains low.
However, some lenders and agents remain more bullish. ‘Today’s data shows [sic] that the property sector is beginning to show signs of recovery,’ noted Daniel Austin, CEO of ASK Partners. ‘With a decline in inflation YoY and the peaking of interest rates, the overall outlook has considerably improved.’
‘The general view is that 2024 will be a far more fruitful year for the UK property market and we’re already seeing early signs of this, with a fourth consecutive monthly increase in house prices and a sharp increase in both new sales listings and the number of buyers submitting offers,’ notes Benham and Reeves director Marc von Grundherr.
Verona Frankish, CEO of agents Yopa, boldly notes that ‘it’s likely that not only has the property market bottomed out with respect to the decline in house prices seen last year, but it’s also likely that interest rates have now peaked.’
In a comment on the news, Foxtons CEO noted that while interest rates may have peaked, it’s ‘important to note that [they] remain at 5.25% and there is no guarantee of when this will change’. Indeed, at the January 31 meeting of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, the vote to keep interest rates at 5.25% was passed by a majority of 6-3. However, one member voted to reduce them, while two wished to see interest rates increase.
A spectacular Bedfordshire mansion, a charming Somerset manor house and a delightful Cotswolds home make it in to our latest
Credit: Savills
From the former Premier of Queensland to the chairman of British Land, Caldrees Manor has some history in its halls
Mockbeggars Hall can trace its name back to the 16th century, and has been substantially renovated by recent owners.
Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto
Our annual tongue-in-cheek look at what 2024 might hold in store, from the Shipping News in cockney to the resurgence
Temperatures may be falling outside but the housing market appears to be warming up. Annabel Dixon lifts the lid on the ‘tentatively promising’ start to the new year.
Knight Frank makes ‘big upwards revision’ to its house price forecasts
In a sign that the housing market might be turning a corner, Knight Frank has revised its UK house price forecasts up for the year ahead. It now expects mainstream prices to climb by 3% in 2024 rather than fall 4% as it predicted last October.
The estate agent’s latest forecasts suggest that high-end country house prices could drop 2% this year as the prime country housing market ‘comes down from the highs of the pandemic’. It marks a change from the 3% fall Knight Frank predicted three months ago.
And prices in prime central London and prime outer London in 2024 are set to increase by 1% and 2% respectively. These figures are also up, from the 0% and 1% growth the estate agent forecasted last October.
The firm says its update was prompted by a more positive backdrop recently, with inflation falling faster than expected and mortgage lenders dropping their rates ‘fairly significantly’.
Still, it might not be plain sailing from here.
‘How long the current momentum in the housing market continues depends to some extent on when the general election takes place,’ Knight Frank says. The ongoing conflict in the Red Sea and the threat it potentially poses for higher UK inflation is another risk on the horizon, it adds.
READ: Best country houses for sale this week
Buyers and sellers spring into action
It’s been a ‘tentatively promising’ start to the new year as buyer and seller activity jump, says Rightmove.
The number of homes brought to the market in the first week of 2024 was 15% up on the same period last year. Meanwhile, the number of buyers (also known as buyer demand) was 5% higher than this time in 2023.
Asking prices of newly-marketed homes increased by 1.3% (£4,571) this month. Prices traditionally climb in January. But what’s notable is that this price rise is the largest for January since 2020, and more than double the 20-year average, says the property portal. Time will tell whether buyers are prepared to accept these price tags.
There’s another promising sign for sellers hoping to clinch a deal in 2024. Since Christmas, Rightmove has seen nine of its 10 busiest days on record for buyers getting a mortgage in principle.
‘After a stop-start market in 2023, the initial signs suggest a smoother year for movers in 2024. More new sellers are now entering the market, and with more confident pricing’, explains Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s director of property science.
‘While the increased level of buyer activity that we’re also seeing may justify some of this increased pricing confidence from sellers, it’s important that sellers who are keen to find a buyer don’t get carried away with new year enthusiasm when setting their price expectations.’
Housing market activity ‘on the up’
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ widely-respected monthly ‘temperature check’ of the housing market also points to a gradually improving picture.
According to RICS’s latest survey of members, there has been ‘a little bit of respite’ in recent weeks as mortgage rate cuts continue.
Its buyer enquiries and newly-agreed sales indicators were the least downbeat since early 2022. Surveyors expect a ‘solid recovery’ in sales to emerge this year.
Downward pressure on house prices seems to be diminishing too, with the latest reading it’s least negative since November 2022.
‘The tide seems to be turning with respect to house prices, with contributors now envisaging a largely flat trend coming through at the twelve-month time horizon’, says RICS.
‘With 2023 proving to be a particularly challenging year for the UK housing market, it appears recent weeks have seen a little bit of respite emerge,’ explains RICS senior economist, Tarrant Parsons.
‘Supported by an easing in mortgage interest rates of late, buyer demand has now stabilised, and this is expected to translate into a slight recovery in residential sales volumes over the coming months.
‘Nevertheless, the lending climate is set to remain restrictive compared to much of the post global financial crisis era next year, meaning any uplift in activity is likely to be limited for the time being.’
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