Last year, most Estate Agents were largely coasting in a low stock, high demand property market where homebuyers were chucking silly offers at house after house, like the proverbial brown smelly stuff, hoping to make one stick.
Now of course, some of this is still in play, yet not to the extent it was during the height of the silly season.
Whilst stock is projected to remain low for 2022, with inflation and energy prices on the rise (gas / electric bills will be double by April 2023 compared to Sept 2021 plus many fixed rates will coming to an end) the balance of market will change.
More houses will be put on the market, especially from mature homeowners looking to move forward their downsizing plans to reduce their outgoing's.
This seller’s market to the extent we have experienced is not likely to last at the same speed & intensity.
Vendors have always been in need of honest & sound advice from their estate agent, yet the reality is, a lot of that straightforward opinion & advice went out the window when there were twenty buyers outside the vendors front door waiting for their inadequate 10 minutes to see the house. Overnight, the pricingdidn’t matter as much.
As we move to some sense of normal state of affairs throughout 2022, vendors will likely need to be brought back to earth with a bit with back to basics guidance.
The number of properties nationally still on the market after the end if their sole agency has increased proportionally by 51.2% in the last6 months as the market shows signs of returning to normality (just over 19% in summer of 2021 to just under 30% today)
Estate Agents need to dust off their knowledge and training notes from 2010/1 (and if you weren't an agent then - ask your grey haired colleagues) and adapt this advice to your local market and the kind of property and vendor they are working with.