New Year, new home, new way
The New Year brings new hope for homeowners looking to make a fresh start and climb the property ladder, as resolutions and post-Christmas blues spur buyers to begin their property search early. Marketing property promptly in the New Year means owners can benefit from the ‘spring bounce’ when sales traditionally increase between March and May.
This will be especially true in early 2015, according to recent figures from the Office for National Statisticsi (ONS), which demonstrate the strength of the market. Excluding London and the South East, UK house prices increased by 9.1 per cent in the 12 months to September 2014.
Graeme Naish, co-founder of Open Door Auctions, a family-run property business specialising in residential sales, comments: “Winter is typically seen as a bad time of year for the property market because of a number of factors - the weather’s bad, money is tight and people are preoccupied with Christmas preparations. Once Christmas is over and the January blues set in, people start thinking about the year ahead, making decisions and taking positive steps forward.”
The New Year can provide an opportune time for people looking to sell property, as buyers kick-start their house-hunting in earnest.
“Your home can actually be at its most inviting in the winter time and this can have a very positive and inspiring effect on potential buyers,” added Graeme. “There’s nothing better than stepping in from the cold to a warm and hospitable house. January and February are great times for people to market their property.”
According to a recent study, buying or selling a house is viewed as the most stressful part of modern life - more stressful than bankruptcy, getting divorced or being made redundantii. For this reason, a growing number of people are looking to auctions and other, less traditional channels to achieve a sale. Indeed, in the first six months of 2014, there was a massive 135 per cent increase in sales by auction compared to the first six months of 2013iii.
Competitive by nature, auctions can drive up the price of a property, are legally binding and require deposits to be paid on exchange. Around 75 per cent of properties sold at UK auctions are completed and exchanged within as little as four weeks, much quicker than the national averageiv.
In its first two years of business, Open Door Auctions has hosted 20 auctions and sold homes worth more than £30million to local residents.
For more information about the next property auction or to arrange a free property valuation, visit opendoorauctions.co.uk.
