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It'll be no surprise to hear that the London property sales market slowed overall when mortgage rates shot up at the end of last year. With rates coming down and more variety in residential mortgage products available to borrowers, have buyers and sellers come back to the North West London market?
According to Rightmove, the site saw a boost in property views in the first quarter of this year compared to last—on average, between 30% and 40%!
In the first quarter, we've also seen a 40% increase in the number of instructions with us.
Our Sales Consultant Dan comments, "Our data shows that, on average, asking prices have softened in the first quarter of 2023 by about 3%. Right now we're working very closely with our clients to price their properties accurately to sell, so we can ultimately reduce the days a property spends on the market."
We sell homes across North West London, and having in-depth knowledge of local markets is key to getting our sellers' prices right. For example, you can see below how trends in house prices have been very different in 3 of our areas at the beginning of this year:
WEST HAMPSTEAD
CRICKLEWOOD
BELSIZE PARK
From January to March, our properties spent an average of 3 weeks on the market, though some sold in less than a week. It's all about getting the pricing right to keep a property from going stale on the market, making buyers question "what's wrong with it?"
Dan says, "In February and March, we also saw a 40% increase from January in motivated buyer registrations, meaning the demand is still there for properties that are priced correctly."
"Due to the success of our targeted, in-depth marketing, we're able to gauge interest in a property within the first 2 weeks on the market. We look at the data from interactions with our video tours and property listings, as well as feedback from buyers, and use this to advise sellers on price. Following the data, we can help our sellers avoid wasting time."
One trend that's really standing out so far this year is the significant increase in cash buyers.
"We've recently seen a 90% increase in cash buyers since last year entering the market due to the higher interest rates. Cash buyers make up about 50% of our sales now."
"Cash buyers have the benefit of fewer delays, buying chain-free and without the paperwork involved in a mortgage. We believe some of these buyers are investing their hard-earned money to mortgage the property later, allowing them to pull their equity out."
So, what is your property worth? How much equity do you have now?
To find out more about the North West London property market in general, click here to call us at 020 7644 2331!
