Home owners in the UK, who failed to sell their property in 2012, need to consider new options if they want to be successful in 2013. As the market continues to tighten for sellers, and prices begin to look more attractive to buyers, anyone who hasn’t yet sold their property in 2012 needs to seriously think about whether they drop the price or have to do work to the property to sell it, according to market analyst Kate Faulkner, managing director of Designs on Property.
‘Alternatively, it may be worth giving up selling and instead adapting the home or indeed looking at letting it out. To better understand what the right thing to do if you are buying and selling as we move into 2013 is essential,’ she said, ‘As the property market is now dividing into thousands of markets with demand and supply differing according to the postcode and property type, the key to understanding what to do for the best is to get to grips with the local market for the property you are thinking of or trying to sell’ she explained.
‘To help work out what’s happening in the market now, we need to better understand the relationship between demand for property in today’s market and what’s happening with supply. This helps us to understand whether now is a good time to sell, if to sell it’s worth dropping the price or whether as a seller, the only way to move on is via letting our property,’ she added.
She also pointed out that the average time to sell a property fell from 10.2 weeks in January to 9.8 weeks in November 2012 and although this is good news, as it suggests the market is improving, it is still some way away from the average six to eight weeks pre-credit crunch. Matching this fall in the time to sell a property is an improvement in the offer prices from buyers which have risen from 92.5% in January to 93.2% in September and October. For example, a property for sale for £100,000 at the start of the year might have attracted an offer £92,500 now it would be more like £93,200.
The number of people looking to view a property before an offer is received remains at around 11 viewings suggesting demand isn’t increasing, just that those looking are serious buyers and those looking to sell are keen to do so. As with property prices on a regional basis there are huge differences as London continues to outperform the rest of the market. Greater London’s offer to asking price ratio is 94.4% and homes are continuing to sell the fastest at six weeks. The South East has the next highest offer to asking price ratio of 94.2%, selling a home within 7.7 weeks while Wales has the worst offer to asking price ratio at 92% and it takes 11.5 weeks to sell a home.
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She also pointed out that the market has quietened going into the Christmas holiday period a little more than it has done throughout the rest of the year and prices may start to slow or even fall going into January.