12 Oct A Sellers’ Market

The last eighteen months have seen some big changes in the property market. Government schemes such as the stamp duty holiday, help to buy, and mortgage guarantees have stimulated the market to such an extent that buyers are facing fierce competition as demand continues to outstrip supply.

With so many people chasing the same property, the vendor’s decisions are much less dependent on the asking price and more about what kind of position a potential buyer is in. This means to get ahead in this market you need to be a ‘premium buyer’ i.e. those who already have a buyer for their property, are chain free or have nothing to sell.

Why not browse our properties for sale in Virginia Water and the surrounding areas? If you’re looking at moving to the area, visit our award-winning website or call us on 01344 843000 and email us.

How to become a premium buyer

A premium buyer is someone who is in a position to make an offer and progress the transaction quickly. These people will always be preferred by vendors, however, in this time of fierce competition for properties, those who offer the most hassle-free solution could end up being the front runner in the race to secure the property.

There are three main ways you can get ahead of the rest.

Be a Cash Buyer

As a cash buyer, you are a vendor’s dream. You have no chain, nothing to sell, and therefore, nothing to delay the process. This means that the vendor can get to work securing their next property with minimal risk that you will pull out. If you are a cash buyer, make sure that your estate agent knows this, as it could be a deal-breaker when it comes to offers being accepted elsewhere in the transaction.

Mortgage in principle

If you are a first-time buyer but haven’t yet secured your funding, getting this done sooner rather than later will save you valuable time down the line. Getting a mortgage in principle will improve your position and make you a more attractive buyer, no chain and funding in place is the best position in which to be.

Sell your home

If you are relying on finances from the sale of your current property in order to fund the new home, make sure that you have secured a buyer for your home before viewing. In these times, viewing homes is a tricky minefield to navigate. With Covid-19 still on the scene, thorough cleaning must be undertaken between each viewing and so, viewing properties without the ability to make an offer can often be considered unnecessary.

At the moment we are seeing that vendors are preferring to choose buyers who already have sales agreed on their homes, in fact, we have heard of people selling their homes and moving into short term rented accommodation in order to be in the best possible position to move fast when the right property comes to market.

With so many people competing for properties, vendors will often discount any potential buyers which are in a lengthy chain in order to get the transaction completed quickly. It is a seller’s market, so if you have a property you would like to sell, make sure you get in touch with our team.

Get in Touch

If you are thinking of moving to the area, make sure you take a look at our amazing catalogue of properties for sale in Virginia Water and the surrounding areas.

If you’d like to speak to someone about properties to let in Virginia Water, a member of our expert team would be happy to help. You can call us on 01344 843000 or email us. You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.