Southampton sellers benefit as asking prices hit highest ever level

Property asking prices have reached a new record high of £286,133, according to Rightmove’s latest House Price Index. This is £4,351 more than the previous high set in June 2014.

Ever-growing demand for houses, underlined by Rightmove recording its busiest ever month for traffic in March, is further good news for sellers in what is an increasingly competitive marketplace.

The property portal saw page visits go up by nearly 20% year-on-year last month, to more than 115 million. This record spring activity suggests that the traditional house price bounce at this time of the year is not being affected by the upcoming election. Demand is higher than ever, even with uncertainty over who will form the next government and what this will mean for housing policy.

The south of the country, in particular, has benefitted most from rising house prices in the five years since the last general election in May 2010. In Greater London, the South East, the east of England and the South West, the average price of property coming to the market has increased by £84,874 (+27.5%) – music to the ears of sellers in southern cities such as Portsmouth, Southampton and Bournemouth.

This south east region – a favourite among commuters as you can be in London in 90 minutes or less – has also witnessed ‘new seller’ asking prices go up by £62,105 (+20.0%) in the last five years. With demand high and supply drastically low, sellers have been placed in a strong bargaining position. There is no need for sellers to panic or undervalue – they can afford to bide their time and not rush into hasty decisions.

With the economy picking up and people feeling more positive about their own finances, the forecasts for the housing market this year are being realigned to indicate something more optimistic. Despite fears over the effect the election would have on prices, Rightmove’s latest data would appear to suggest this hasn't materialised.

Furthermore, as we wrote about in a previous blog, buy-to-let investors are turning their backs on London and seeking higher rental yields in places outside the capital. Of course, more buy-to-let investors looking to snap up properties results in a larger pool of prospective buyers for sellers.

At ChimneyPots we believe exposure through the national portals is the best way of getting your property seen by the widest possible audience. As Rightmove’s latest traffic figures show, heading online is the first port of call for many buyers when they start their property search. The reach and depth of the portals cannot be underestimated.

For more advice and guidance on buying and selling property in Southampton, Portsmouth and the surrounding areas, please contact us on 08448 099931. Additionally, our instant online valuation tool will give you an accurate idea of what your property is worth in the current market.

http://ow.ly/MdsPY 

How to pick the right estate agent in Portsmouth

When it comes to selling your home, picking the right estate agent is one of the most vital steps in this process.

It’s well-known that selling property can be a stressful and daunting undertaking, with plenty of potential stumbling blocks along the way. As a result, having a reliable and knowledgeable agent guiding you through will help to alleviate pressure and prevent emotions from becoming frayed.

First and foremost, a good agent will go above and beyond the call of duty to get you the best price for your property. They will work hard to attract buyers and market the property, and they will handle all aspects of the sale in a professional and timely manner. More importantly, they will do this at a reasonable rate and within a reasonable amount of time.

Unfortunately, issues do occur during house sales – this may be offers being withdrawn by hesitant buyers, contracts being delayed, conveyancing taking longer than it should, or surveys wrecking deals at the last minute. But this is what an estate agent is paid for, to deal with these problems and take the stress away from the seller.

With this in mind, it’s vitally important that you carry out plenty of research before you eventually decide on an estate agent. You want an agent who you trust and can build an excellent relationship with. Asking friends and families for recommendations is a prudent measure – after all, reputation is everything when it comes to estate agency. If an agent has done a good job for someone you know, there’s a good chance they’ll do a good job for you as well.

It should be a given that any agency you use has excellent local knowledge of the area they are working in, while also providing a highly personal service that always places the customer first. Viewings, too, are a big part of the sales process. In some cases, the seller will want to conduct these personally; in other cases people will want an agent to do it on their behalf. Either way, a good agent will be flexible and adapt to changing circumstances with the minimum of fuss.

Nowadays, marketing is a major part of an estate agent’s armoury. Advertising on portals, using high-quality photographs and floor plans, and having a slick, buyer friendly website is something most sellers will take for granted. Additionally, virtual tours are becoming much more common.

Sellers can also reasonably expect a full market appraisal of their property at the very start. As estate agents covering large parts of Hampshire, including Sarisbury Green, Locks Heath, Park Gate and more, we provide this but we are also able to provide an instant valuation courtesy of our handy online tool.

The estate agency model is rapidly evolving, with the rise of the portals and various online agencies springing up across the country. A new model that is becoming more and more common is what is known as a hybrid agency, which takes the best elements of the traditional and online models and fuses them together to offer customers the ultimate package.

At ChimneyPots we believe this is the best way forward. If you are choosing an estate agent in Portsmouth, look no further than us. Although we provide the same service as other high street agencies, we don’t have the same high overheads. That, of course, means we can offer cheaper packages. We typically charge £750 plus VAT to sell your property, but we can adapt our packages to suit each individual seller. For example, you can either pay upfront or on a commission basis (0.7%) payable after completion.

For more advice on selling property in Portsmouth and the wider area, please contact us on 08448 099931.

http://ow.ly/LQjYr 

Southampton the top location for buy-to-let investors

Buy-to-let investments, especially in areas with high numbers of young professionals and students, are a pretty safe bet in the current climate. With more and more people now renting for the long-term, as a landlord you will have a greater pool of tenants to choose from. In turn, this means you can achieve higher rental yields and reduce your chances of encountering those dreaded void periods.

However, according to recent research carried out by HSBC, it’s important to bear in mind that when it comes to letting property out rental incomes depend greatly on location. While London might seem like the ‘promised land’ when it comes to property, this is not actually the case with buy-to-let.

Rental yields in some parts of the capital are as low as 2.7% thanks to property prices soaring in London’s most affluent areas. Even the traditionally cheaper areas, such as East London and parts of South East London, are becoming less and less affordable as the capital’s property market continues to operate on another level to the rest of the country. Although London has significant demand and high rents, this doesn’t transfer to good returns for investors because property values are also very high.

As estate and letting agents in Portsmouth working across the south of England, we were delighted to see that Southampton came top in HSBC’s research on the highest rents for buy-to-let investors. Rental yields – in other words the annual return you make on your property, calculated by dividing a property’s price by the yearly rent – are as high as 8.73% in Hampshire’s largest city. Nearby Portsmouth, another area we cover at ChimneyPots, also made the top 10, with rental yields of 6.5%.

Both Southampton and Portsmouth are big university towns with considerable student populations. This makes them a popular choice for investors and landlords because the student accommodation market is very reliable and consistent, if not without risk. Landlords based away from London are also witnessing the benefits of young professionals and young families deserting the capital for more affordable towns and cities, where rents are cheaper and quality of living is often higher.

Also, for those working in London who are happy to commute, Southampton and Portsmouth are not as far away from the capital as some might think (1hr 17m from Southampton Central to London Waterloo; 1hr 33m from Portsmouth Harbour to London Waterloo). With houses relatively affordable in these two cities, and decent rents still being commanded (the average rent in Southampton is £901), you can be pretty confident of getting good returns on your investment.

As rental growth continues to rise in 2015, yields are expected to increase marginally this year, too. As such, now is as good a time as any to consider a buy-to-let purchase.

If you would like more advice on letting your property, please contact us on: 0844 809 993. Additionally, we provide an instant online valuation to show how much you could be renting your property for.

http://ow.ly/LAhDG