Spring in full swing for property market
Daffodils are blooming, chicks are chirping and the days are getting longer which all mean one thing – the start of spring. This is good news for the property market and both buyers and sellers who can benefit from the traditional ‘spring bounce’. This is reflected in the latest data from Rightmovei which shows that the average house price in the East Midlands is now £183,234 – up 1.1 per cent on the previous month and 5.1 per cent on March 2014. This potentially makes the next few months an ideal time to sell your property.
The lettings market is also likely to experience a bounce with the number of 25-to 34-year-olds in privately-rented accommodation at an all-time highii. This means that there’s significant potential for investment opportunities. The buy-to-let market could also see a boost following changes to pension rules which took effect on 6 April 2015, allowing retirees to cash in their pension pots. According to Rightmove, agents are seeing a boom in interest from ‘granlords’ who will have access to large sums of cash and are therefore looking to invest.
Graeme Naish, Director of Open Door Property, a family-run business specialising in residential sales, comments: “Spring really is an ideal time for the property market. It puts people in a positive frame of mind and the market is therefore ripe with buyers. The days are becoming longer and the warmer weather encourages people to get out and house hunt.”
Spring means homeowners have a captive audience as potential buyers flood the market. In turn, there are also plenty of opportunities for them to quickly find a new home due to the number of properties that are put up for sale between March and May.
“For sellers, spring is the time of year when they can really take advantage of the seasonal effects on a home and garden,” comments Graeme. “Thriving spring gardens can boost the kerb appeal of a property significantly, especially as house hunters are looking for a place that they can picture themselves in over the summer. My advice is to trim back hedges, mow the lawn, paint the front door and give fences a spruce up – these small things make a real difference to the visual appeal of a property.”
Since selling its first property in 2012, family-run business Open Door has hosted 20 auctions, sold homes worth more than £30million to local residents and has developed an intimate knowledge of the property market in Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and Yorkshire. Having built up a reputation for selling properties quickly and efficiently, it has now launched Open Door Sales – a non-auction, more traditional estate agency service. This launch follows the company’s recent decision to transform an old farm building in South Wheatley into a new, state-of-the-art office, creating a village base on the doorstep of rural residents looking to sell their home.
For more information about Open Door Auctions, Open Door Sales or to arrange a free property valuation, visit opendoorproperty.co.uk.
