It was generally expected that the market would improve after the Easter/Royal Wedding/May Day Holidays, but in respect of many properties this has not materialised.
Analysis of the current situation is very difficult as there are often glaring inconsistencies between the volume of internet viewing activity and the number of actual visits to the property.
On the upside, this means that our clients are not being subjected to ‘time wasters’ and that potential buyers are filtering out unsuitable properties before making viewing appointments.
Conversely though, we know that without an actual physical inspection, nobody is going to buy, so all our efforts are geared to achieving this goal, including staff incentives, Sunday opening and cross referencing of active viewers.
The overall economic situation continues to be a problem, particularly mortgage restrictions on first time buyers, fear of redundancy, and a general lack of confidence. Similarly, continued adverse and sensationalist media publicity about falling house prices and negative equity is as unhelpful as ever.
Whilst this seems like a fairly negative prognosis, it is not all doom and gloom. We have registered 136 new applicants on our mailing list in the last three months and agreed 73 sales at an average of 95% of the asking price.
The evidence suggests that buyer behaviour is changing and an actual viewing appointment is often the final act in the decision making process rather than the first as it always has been previously.
