Realistic sellers could help thaw the conveyancing market

Published: 24/01/2013

As large parts of the UK find themselves surrounded by blankets of snow and ice, latest figures suggest the property market is starting to thaw.

According to HM Revenue and Customs, the number of house sales increased by 5 per cent to 932,000 in 2012, placing sales at their highest levels since 2007. General expectations suggest sales will continue to rise throughout 2013.

While this revival is in large partly down to the Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS), an increase in new, realistic sellers has also played a considerable part in defrosting the conveyancing market.

There has been over 11,000 new properties added to the listings on Rightmove this month so far, a 22 per cent rise on the same period last year. While this natural increase is promising in itself, the accompaniment of sensible pricing by sellers is also paying dividends as Rightmove’s Director and Housing Market Analysts, Miles Shipside, comments:

“Those coming to market this month have taken a pragmatic pricing approach and kept their asking prices pretty much the same as sellers in December, up by just 0.2 per cent. Sensible pricing will help buyer affordability, one of the factors needed to help warm up the market and encourage a recovery from the credit-crunch freeze in transaction volumes.

“The thaw will also be helped by growing confidence that prices are more likely to go up than down. There is an increasing body of evidence suggesting genuine ‘green shoots’ of recovery after a prolonged period of the housing market bumping along the bottom.”

While we are far from out of the woods - threat of another flurry remains on amber alert - there is a consistency amongst estate agents that well presented properties are the most sought after as buyers have limited funds for home improvements, a very helpful insight for any wannabe seller.

Content correct at time of publication