Clearly there will be an impact in the marketplace to buyers not least of all caused by an increase in the bank of England interest rate throughout the course of 2022. The obvious level of the market which has been impacted initially in North Leeds has been for properties valued between £500,000 and £750,000.
My team and I regularly monitor the listings both new and old in our main postcode locations daily and we have seen that the direct impact of the interest rate rises on property prices with reductions between 2.5% and 7.5% and fall throughs occurring regularly in this price bracket where purchasers can no longer afford the interest payments.
Take Advantage if you can
Interestingly these reduced prices are commonly where properties could do with updating decoratively and where buyers have potentially been put off when the properties were originally on the market. This creates an interesting scenario where buyers could take advantage of a reduced price to do cosmetic refurbishment in order to create the house they really want.
SDLT changes by the new Truss Conservative regime are positive for this section of the market, aiding affordability for first time buyers and purchasers at the bottom of the market but likely this will have a knock-on affect to demand in the mid-level of the market as well as some benefit to buyers in this price point.
Properties moving quickly
In terms of selling, we have found the demand for sub £500,000 and over £750,000 has continued to be strong and the likelihood is that the higher levels of equity and lower loan to value lending that is common at the higher of the market has led to a more resilient average selling price. We have found there to be a huge demand sub £500,000 and although the period from launching a property to agreeing a sale is around 7 days longer on average, the actual prices being agreed have been consistent. The SDLT changes of late are also likely to have an impact on the lower and mid-level of the market positively for sellers as the number of buyers in the pool will be stigmatised.
With regard to the upper end of the market, there is a definite lack of stock coming to market, especially around North Leeds, this has led to a pent up demand and therefore property which does come to market is being snapped up with no sign of price reductions. We have a huge number of registered buyers at the higher end of the market who are looking for property and therefore this is the level which we would really like to speak to more vendors as soon as possible.
Presentation is key for the middle of the market
For those with property in the middle market between £500,000 and £750,000 , it is very important for vendors to look at how they can best present their property, with decluttering, redecorating and freshening up the property generally, being highly important for vendors looking to make the biggest impact when they go to market.
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