Why current conditions increase the need for speed

What do many current home movers and agents have in common? They need to act with speed. Buying and selling property has never been a quick experience and home movers enter into the process knowing there will be weeks or months of transactional activity ahead. Time, however, isn’t on everyone’s side.

A quick escape from high mortgage rates

Homeowners and landlords coming off fixed-rate mortgage deals and reverting to their lender’s standard variable rate of interest, together with those on tracker mortgages, will have seen their monthly repayment costs rise at an alarming rate this year. Bank of England’s successive raising of the base rate and high inflation has created a new normal for those with home loans.

Some borrowers may feel affordability has been squeezed to breaking point. Unsurprisingly, analysis by L&C Mortgages of Google search data reveals UK searches relating to the mortgage crisis have skyrocketed, with people inputting the phrase ‘mortgage help’ increasing by 1,366% in just one seven-day period in August.

Switch or sell properties now

For homeowners, a move to a less expensive property with a smaller loan to repay is one option to reduce mortgage repayments. In these cases, a fast sale and onward purchase is required to shorten the length of time the homeowner is paying off a mortgage with a high interest rate.

Even landlords are not immune to fluctuating market conditions and a sale is sometimes the only way to avoid the drastic consequences of compromised affordability – something that’s been declining with other factors and taxes for many years already. Sadly, UK Finance found that in the first quarter of 2023, there was a 28% increase in buy-to-let properties being repossessed compared to the last quarter of 2022.

Landlords may also want to exit the buy-to-let mortgage market – the Hamptons Monthly Lettings Index for July 2023 illustrated how property investors are making smaller gains in light of poor property appreciation and punitive taxes – both of which are compounded by high mortgage rates.

Sell quickly before prices decline further

Speed is also a priority in a market where property prices are falling – a trend illustrated by several property big hitters. The Nationwide Building Society reported that house prices had fallen by 3.8% in the year to July 2023. This was the biggest annual drop since 2009.

Concurring with the trend was Rightmove, whose data published on 17th July 2023 showed the average asking price for a property fell £905 – a drop of 0.2% – resting at a new average asking price of £371,907. This was the second fall in a month after a modest £82 in June. Zoopla adds to the declining picture by forecasting property prices will reduce by an overall of 5% during 2023, although the Office for Budget Responsibility says that house prices could fall by 10% over the next two years.

With house prices on the decline, sellers will want to achieve the most money for their sale before values dip any further. Anything that can speed up the sales process will be most welcome.

Urgency needed to address stock levels

The quest for speed is also shared by agents. For sales and lettings property professionals, the matter of urgency revolves around stock levels. Sales agents are reporting a diminishing number of homes for sale on their books. The trend has been exposed by Propertymark – the industry’s leading association of agents.

Its latest available housing insights report, which reflects activity in June 2023, found the supply of new instructions for sale per member branch continued to lessen in June — now at only 8 new instructions per member branch. For perspective, each Propertymark members’ branch registered 9 for sale in May, and 10 in April.

New tenants outnumber rentals available

In lettings, there are simply more tenants in need of somewhere to rent than available properties. Propertymark found the number of renters registering with its members’ branches rose again between May and June – a trend that means there are 27% more tenants looking for a property to rent now, compared to June 2022.

This translates to 118 active tenants registered per branch and just nine available properties for them to fight over. The number of available rentals now is 19% lower than June 2022.  What letting agents really need is more stock to rent out and they need it fast.

The declining number of properties each branch has available to rent or sell impacts an agent’s bottom line; sales agents rely on commission from each sale to survive, while letting agents pin their hopes on attracting buy-to-let properties where the landlord wants a fully managed, paid-for service for the long term.

Bigger geographical catchment, bigger rewards

The urgency to increase stock is prompting agents to cast their geographical net much wider to appeal to a bigger audience. As a result, they’ll be competing against more local agents who have the same stock worries and will also need to reassure vendors that they can provide the same level of service as an agent in the same town.

While increasing an agent’s geographical catchment is a logical strategy to win more business, there can be logistical problems when a property is located miles away from the office. Agents have to factor in distance and travelling time, with visits required to value a property, take marketing photos/videos, accompany viewings, let in fellow property professionals and hand over keys. The time spent away from the office looking after one distant property could make it a false economy.

Viewber can provide that end to end, listing pack to key handover – fast.

Viewber is an integral part of the property process where the need for speed is crucial.

• For estate & letting agents: increase your geographical catchment overnight, knowing our network of Viewbers will become an extension of your team. Agents can market a property at arm’s length, with a Viewber able to provide an initial property report, visit the dwelling to create a full suite of marketing assets (still photographs, written descriptions, 360° tours and floorplans + EPC); accompany viewings and run open house events, install a key safe and hand keys over on completion of contracts.
• For home buyers: those who need to move fast can send a local Viewber to see a property on their behalf – ideal for when work and family commitments may get in the way of viewings. A Viewber can create an opinion and condition report, or even video call the prospective buyer from the property so a rapid offer can be made.
• For property investors: if landlords are chasing better yields in other parts of the country, they can send a local Viewber to inspect and view a property on their behalf, saving them the time and expense of travelling. Having a complete information pack allows property investors to buy quickly sight unseen, especially if there is competition from other landlords.

Viewbers are available across the UK, seven days a week, offering great availability for those needing to act quickly. Anyone involved in property can book a Viewber – landlords, home buyers, estate and letting agents, property managers, auctioneers and housing associations. We’re happy to work on a one-off basis, or on a longer-term arrangement. Why not book a discovery call?