This time of year is historically a good time to sell a house, the gardens look better, everything is in bloom and flowering and everything feels better in the sunshine. In May the number of houses for sale increased by 71% compared to 2022, this means buyers have lots more properties to choose from which will be helping as buyers still want to move but have been very frustrated at the lack of choice.  The Bank of England base rate increased on May 11th and is now at 4.5% with predictions of over 5% by the end of the year and even though the number of buyers has picked up in our area they are still impacted by higher mortgage rates and increases in day to day living costs, this means that buyers are searching for affordable homes and ones that show good value for them across the board.

MARKET STATS MAY 2022 VS MAY 2023

The number of sales agreed in May this year fell short of May 2022 by 10 but some sellers enjoyed great results with some houses even going over marketing price with multiple buyers.  We have seen some homes re marketed this year that unfortunately lost a buyer last year and achieved a better result this time around.  We have had a few homes sale agreed at over the market price with multiple and the common denominator with these were that these all had the potential to add value in some way.

The most popular price bracket is the £250,000 - £500,000 accounting for nearly half of all sales, closely followed by the £125,000 - £250,000 bracket. 

 

In May of the 97 sales a massive 31 of these were detached houses followed by 18 terraces, 18 semi detached, 19 bungalows and 8 apartments.  40% of buyers have snapped up the detached homes and following that everything else is evenly spread out meaning the detached are very desirable at the moment followed by the ever popular bungalows.

Without a doubt the winners offer value for money and homes that have lots to offer.  With plenty of homes to choose from and less buyers to compete with there is time to choose and consider the best options. 

The highest price property sold in our area was a tie with two sales agreed at £1,950,000!  One in Aldbrough St John and the other in Warlaby making up 2 out of only 3 sales agreed in May over £1,000,000 accounting for 3% of sales agreed, these £1m + homes took on average 4 months to find a buyer.

This shows that buyers across the pricing range will commit if they see value in a home but you may need to wait to secure the right buyer, one who is equally committed and paying what your home is worth.

(Sal Isherwood - Head of Lettings, Deven Bowler - Sales Team Leader)

We won two awards for customer service experience in lettings and sales which is amazing! Well done team Love Property 😊

We have also nearly finished the renovations at the Love Property HQ giving our ever expanding letting department a face lift. We have had so many new landlords coming to us to enjoy our fully comprehensive ‘Let and Forget’ service and portfolio building for investors.

Please pop in and see us, we would love to make you a cuppa!

What is your marketing strategy? There are many reasons why buyers are not looking at your home or not offering, check the competition and see what you are up against and how your home compares. If you have been on the market for 8 weeks+ and have had less than 10 viewings you may have a problem.

Price reductions are rife in our area especially if we compare to May last year, in the whole month of May there were only 30 reductions this is in vast contrast to this March 2023 where we saw 75 reductions which is a huge 150% rise in home owners changing their, it is much better to avoid the spiral of reducing your home to attract attention (this often results in a much lower eventual sale price) by planning ahead. 

The homes we are seeing having to reduce prices or without basic essentials on their listings shows us is that home sellers need to focus on marketing prices and presentation, the strategy behind selling your home has never been more important and will have a huge impact on your outcome or even if you move at all!

Be prepared, give your home the best opportunity by making the slight tweaks that can make a huge difference when putting your house up for sale.  We can advise you on what to do to enhance the value of your home, how to find and choose the most committed buyers and when its the best time for you to start with your marketing.

Laura and the Love Property Team

Ps. If you want to chat more you can connect with us in several ways,

1.  Follow our blog by clicking here to stay up to date with what is happening in the property market and useful hints and tips to make the most of your home.

2. We can send you a personalised report, all you need to do is click here and fill in some information and send some pictures and we will send you back a report on your home.

3. Arrange an informal in person chat either in our office or at your home, call us on 01748 834373 or click here to book in and let us know when is best to meet up.