The property market remains busy with demand continuing to outweigh supply. The Land Registry’s most recent UK House Price Index shows that property prices are now 9.9 per cent higher than they were this time last year.
As the average house price across England is currently £252,671, properties are now much less affordable. With the asking prices having risen more than £55,000 in the past two years, house hunters who are on a budget may not be able to afford the same home that they could have done just a year ago.
But research from property purchasing specialist, HBB Solutions, has now revealed that homebuyers can cut an average of £22,000 off the price they’ll pay for their next house by changing the way that they hunt for homes.
READ MORE: Warning over strange froth people are spotting on their garden plants
In the current housing market where sales are taking an awfully long time to complete, some sellers who are willing to make sacrifices to try and guarantee a fast sale by selling their home for much less.
The property specialist says that by focussing your search on quick sale properties, you can end up paying a lower price for your next house.
HBB Solutions looked at current property values across each region in England, as well as the average price accepted by sellers in need of a quick sale, to reveal just how much you could save.
While the average price paid across England is currently £252,671, the average price for a home that has been listed a ‘quick sale’ property is £22,000 cheaper at £230,428, offering a potential saving of 8.8 per cent.
The biggest savings are in Yorkshire & Humber where the average price for a quick sale property is 14.8 per cent, or roughly £24,000 below the regional average, while in the North East, the average quick sale could save buyers an average of 14.3 per cent.
Savings of up to 9.6 per cent are also available in the North West for those who purchase a quick sale property.
In order to take advantage of these savings, buyers have to be able to move swiftly to secure a quick sale, therefore its important to have a mortgage approved before submitting an offer.
Chris Hodgkinson, m anaging director of HBB Solutions, said: “People often assume that sellers are interested in one thing only: getting as much money for their property as is humanly possible. But this isn’t always the case.
“Lots of people move home because of changing life circumstances, such as new jobs, bereavements or the start of, or breakdown of a relationship, and this means speed is of the essence
“In these instances, a buyer in a strong position is often far more preferable to one with a bigger cheque book and sellers in need of a quick sale will return the favour in the form of some quite notable asking price reductions.
“Ensuring you’re in the strongest possible position as a buyer is the best way to secure such a property and so the very minimum you should have is a mortgage in principle before you hit the market in search of a home.”
It’s also a big benefit to be free of a chain as they create delays, uncertainty and frequently result in fall-throughs.
“Cash buyers are also like catnip to impatient sellers and will rocket a buyer to the top of their list, beating off any competitors who are still fumbling around trying to sort their mortgage paperwork,” Chris added.
“First of all, buyers should not be afraid to ask local estate agents if they are representing a seller who is keen to sell quickly and, therefore, may have listed below market value or be willing to take a bigger hit when negotiating.
“Secondly, most of the well-known property portals enable searches to be filtered by terms such as ‘quick sale’. Such properties are, of course, less common than your standard home but they’re worth searching for because the potential savings are significant.”
Sign up to our free weekly property newsletter by clicking here
Credit: Source link
