Lessons from a buyer that every seller should know

It is now the second quarter of the year and I just wanted to give you a few insights into the London property market. Well, the good news is we’ve had several completions this year and so we are excited to see that there are deals getting done and completed. And what that means for sellers is that buyers are out there. I actually have been working with a buyer recently, and I just wanted to share our experience because I think it might give us insight that helps sellers.

So, I’ve been working with a buyer who is a client who lives in Oxford and is looking for a pied-à-terre in London. One of the areas we’ve selected for him is Maida Vale in northwest London. Last week we went out and we saw multiple properties in the £850K range. And what became very clear to me working with this buyer and seeing these properties was not all 2-bedroom properties at £850K are the same. And sellers really need to understand that. It becomes really clear when you come into say a two-bedroom where the second bedroom is extremely small, or there is really only one bathroom as opposed to other two-bedrooms that offer two bathrooms. Or the ceiling height, some we saw at 10-foot ceilings and some we saw closer to eight and a half, some had their own separate entrances, some had a really nice-sized second bedroom, some even came with a garden.

So, all of these things are the features, the benefits, and amenities that a buyer is going to be looking at when they are looking say in the range £850K for a 2-bedroom flat in the Maida Vale area. So, it’s really important for you as a seller to understand that. To understand that just because you’re pricing in the market, you actually might be out of the market because buyers have so much choice right now. They know that they can be quite selective. And they’re going to look at location, amenities, features, condition, access to their own entrance, those types of things, service charges, the cost of owning the home. So, it’s really important that sellers understand that what type of advice they are getting from their state agent. So, if you take your property out and put your property on the market, and you’re not getting a response from the market, buyers are out there – it probably means that you’re just not being competitive relative to what else is on the market. So, it’s really important that you recognize that and you think about that relative to your timeframe for selling. Because if you’re looking to sell in the 30 to 60-day timeframe, it’s really important that you receive the feedback from the market within those first couple of weeks.

So, if you have any questions, if you’re struggling to sell, please get in touch, we will give you a comprehensive market analysis, show you what’s happening, and really help you understand how to position your property so that it gets sold. And if you’re a buyer and looking, and thinking about the London property market, please get in touch because we work with buyers to get them the best deal. We can show them above and beyond what they might find on their own and we’re going to negotiate so hard on your behalf to make sure that you don’t overpay. So, if you have any questions, please do get in touch and I look forward to speaking to you again soon. Bye for now.