With the housing market still so buoyant, now’s the perfect time for vendors to put their homes up for sale.
The latest Halifax House Price Index shows house prices leapt 10% in 2021, pushing up the average UK property price to a record-high of £276,091.
January’s always been the best month to put properties on the market but with some experts predicting a possible slow-down later this year, there’s even more incentive to get your listings up quickly.
Halifax Managing Director Russell Galley explains: “Looking ahead, the prospect that interest rates may rise further this year to tackle rising inflation and increasing pressures on household budgets suggest house price growth will slow considerably.”
He adds: “Our expectation is that house prices will maintain their current strong levels but that growth relative to the last two years will be at a slower pace.”
He also points out there are many variables which could push house prices either way, depending on how the pandemic continues to impact the economy.
First-time buyer boost
Another reason to feel optimistic is that the number of people taking their first step on the property ladder soared to a 20-year high in 2021.
An estimated 408,379 people bought their first home last year – that’s 35% up on 2020, according to Yorkshire Building Society.
Falling unemployment, low borrowing costs and greater availability of low-deposit mortgage deals all drove demand.
First-time buyers also found it easier to find a bigger deposit, thanks to the stamp duty holiday.
Also, of course, potential buyers were in a better position to save, as expenditure on items such as commuting, and socialising fell during lockdowns.
This was reflected in the proportion of households’ disposable income saved nationally, which rose from 7% in 2019 to 27% in Q2 2020 – the highest since records began in 1963.
An easier way to win clicks
With so many potential buyers searching for properties, it’s crucial to make your listings stand out from the competition, so that you attract more clicks and sell faster.
This is where PropertyBox can help – by enhancing your photos into professional-looking pictures, so that all your properties look their absolute best.
Instead of having to spend hours of your time touching-up photos, just upload them using our app and we’ll do the work for you.
Whether it’s making sure there’s a perfect blue sky or green grass, brightening a photo that’s too dark, or blurring faces, personal photographs and car number-plates to protect the privacy of vendors, it’s a smart solution designed to help you win more clicks.
Even better, using PropertyBox frees you up to concentrate on what you’re best at – giving your sellers a higher standard of customer service and finding buyers for the properties on your books.
Happy 2022! Here’s to winning more instructions, boosting sales and achieving higher sale prices.
