Insight into current property buyer and seller behaviour
The new year has barely started but our team has already been very busy organizing Closing Dates and sales on behalf of our clients. The influx of buyers taking advantage of the affordable mortgage rates in 2018 keeps coming into early 2019 with many active vetted buyers competing for the limited stock available.
So where does the shortage come from and how come the market has more buyers than sellers?
Firstly, let’s take a look at sellers’ demographics. We currently see very limited stock coming to the market; homeowners sell their homes when their life circumstances change and they must make a move on the property ladder. We see sellers moving home because of careers, because of changes in personal circumstances, or families that grow and need to go up to a larger home, etc. But we don’t see many aspirational or speculative sellers, who simply want to move in order to upgrade their living conditions, most likely because of the more general atmosphere of uncertainty.People are holding off on moving up the property ladder until the outlook starts becoming clear.
At the same time, in terms of buyers, the affordable and fairly relaxed mortgage landscape fuels first time buyers who have come on the market in record numbers in the last year. Also property investors looking for good yields have continued to look for good opportunities; Scotland in particular performs well above UK average in terms of return on property investment, especially in some local pockets.
In other words, the market’s imbalance is due to continue as long as the available stock is surpassed by the current demand. We advise sellers to take advantage of the conditions and call our team to discuss their next property move as they are most likely to achieve a great price for their home.
If you would like to find out more about selling in 2019, read our blog on moving on the property market this year.