NOVA NEWS EDITORIAL OCTOBER 2022
IN A SPIN
IN A SPIN
The recent ‘fiscal event’, now a distant memory, will have had a long-term effect on many things, not least, I suspect, a significant bearing on the result of the next general election.
Six weeks or more will have passed by before you read this article but the consequences of the decisions made that day and subsequently will live with us all for a long time. Not least in the housing market, the one good thing is the increase in the threshold for Stamp Duty Land Tax, unless we have had a U-turn on that as well.
Interest rate increases will have a significant effect on buyers, sellers, and renters but gradually the market will settle down and things will gradually return to some kind of normality. Some buyers and sellers will be pulling out of transactions for any of a number of reasons, the best thing to do is give yourself time to take stock of events and by now you will have had time to make a more reasoned judgement about how you are going to proceed with your proposed transaction.
We cannot yet say if the increase in mortgage rates will result in an increase or decrease in housing stock but probably in the short term there may well be a reduction. Certainly at this time; two weeks or so after the mini budget there is a strong indication that buyers are holding back in what was already becoming quieter market conditions.
There will always be property coming on the market but the likelihood is that there will be far fewer choices and a more cautious buyer. Presentation will be a key factor, not just in your home and garden, remember that all-important kerb appeal; the first thing any prospective client sees from the road, but also in the marketing material. Photographs are a major factor in marketing, when your agent presents you with these take a look at them through a buyer’s eye and be aware of how they look to any interested party. Have updated photos if necessary. There is nothing worse than a winter scene on marketing photos in the middle of summer. It is only a few minutes of work to change pictures nowadays and it may make a big difference to the interest in your home.
Six weeks or more will have passed by before you read this article but the consequences of the decisions made that day and subsequently will live with us all for a long time. Not least in the housing market, the one good thing is the increase in the threshold for Stamp Duty Land Tax, unless we have had a U-turn on that as well.
Interest rate increases will have a significant effect on buyers, sellers, and renters but gradually the market will settle down and things will gradually return to some kind of normality. Some buyers and sellers will be pulling out of transactions for any of a number of reasons, the best thing to do is give yourself time to take stock of events and by now you will have had time to make a more reasoned judgement about how you are going to proceed with your proposed transaction.
We cannot yet say if the increase in mortgage rates will result in an increase or decrease in housing stock but probably in the short term there may well be a reduction. Certainly at this time; two weeks or so after the mini budget there is a strong indication that buyers are holding back in what was already becoming quieter market conditions.
There will always be property coming on the market but the likelihood is that there will be far fewer choices and a more cautious buyer. Presentation will be a key factor, not just in your home and garden, remember that all-important kerb appeal; the first thing any prospective client sees from the road, but also in the marketing material. Photographs are a major factor in marketing, when your agent presents you with these take a look at them through a buyer’s eye and be aware of how they look to any interested party. Have updated photos if necessary. There is nothing worse than a winter scene on marketing photos in the middle of summer. It is only a few minutes of work to change pictures nowadays and it may make a big difference to the interest in your home.