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If you’re a property owner with a property not selling, don’t panic. There’s a simple reason why you’re getting low offers or nothing at all.
Property sellers are facing challenging times because it’s a buyer’s market out there.
It’s a time when more properties are being sold than there are investors interested in buying them. Buyers have more choices and they have the upper hand when it comes to negotiating property prices.
As a result, property sellers are forced to settle for a lower price than their property’s real value.
If you’re a property owner wanting to optimise property solutions and returns, now is not the right time to sell your property.
There’s a letting strategy that’ll bring you better property gains even during a buyer’s market.
Before we define how this strategic approach works, let’s try to understand what the current housing market is like at the moment.
Selling During a Buyer’s Market
It’s not the best time to be a property seller right now because buyers are holding back on their property investment plans.
In an article published on Mortgage Solutions it is revealed that although there’s an increase in new buyers, they’re not making any offers at the moment.
From the 12 successive interest rate hikes to the high inflation and after-effects of the Covid-19 pandemic – it’s not hard to understand why properties aren’t selling for a good price. Buyers aren’t keen on getting a mortgage to help them buy properties.
It has left the UK housing market with lower demand and stiffer competition. It has affected property prices – making it fall from £292,555 (September 2022) to £285,861 (May 2023).
(Table from www.ons.gov.uk. Source: UK House Price Index from HM Land Registry, Registers of Scotland, Land and Property Services Northern Ireland, Office for National Statistics)
This is forcing sellers to settle for a lower price or discount to sell their property. Either that or they have to wait until the time is right to sell – leaving them with a property that could lose its value due to prolonged vacancy and neglect.
If you’re a property seller, how can you ensure that the market conditions won’t affect the value of your property gains?
Rent Now Then Sell Later
Renting is the sweet spot for property sellers like you during a buyer’s market.
Even with a property not selling, you can still earn from your property. The price won’t be affected by the lack of buyers in the market because more people are choosing to rent than buy right now. The rising demand for rental properties means rental prices are also increasing.
According to the Office for National Statistics, private rental prices in London increased by 5.0% from May 2022 to May 2023. It’s the highest annual rate seen since October 2012.
(Table from www.ons.gov.uk. Source: UK Index of Private Housing Rental Prices from the Office for National Statistics)
You can take advantage of this income opportunity – and it’s not the only benefit that you’ll get from this letting strategy.
Preserve Your Property’s Marketability
When you let your property to a responsible and reliable resident, you don’t just enjoy a steady rental income.
You also retain the appeal of the property for potential buyers in the future. The resident will take care of the property simply because they’re staying in it. In case there’s a problem with the structure of your property, you’ll know about it immediately and you can take action to improve it.
But what if you suddenly find someone who wants to buy your property but there’s someone currently letting it?
There’s a perfect letting strategy that’ll solve this problem.
Use the Flexible Letting Method
Flexible letting won’t tie your property to long-term lets. It’s the best solution to the evolving rental market demands because it uses real-time market data to determine when to offer a property for short (up to 89 days), mid (up to 179 days) or long lets (more than 180 days).
When done properly, it combines the peak earning potential of short to mid lets and the income stability of long lets. Flexible letting can make a property earn 30% to 40% more in rental income while optimising occupancy rates all year round.
This is the perfect letting solution if you’re waiting for the right market conditions to sell your property. You don’t have to worry about being tied to long-term lets.
However, you do have to take responsibility for certain property management tasks like finding and vetting the right residents and collecting rent.
What if you’re too busy for the time-consuming tasks that property letting will require from you?
Get a Trusted Property Management Service
Partnering with a trustworthy property management company like City Relay, allows you to benefit from both letting expertise and market reach while freeing your time to do other projects.
At City Relay, we offer our partners a variety of services that includes marketing properties, tenant vetting, rent collection, property maintenance and many more. We have an in-house cleaning and maintenance staff to take care of any issues that properties under our management will encounter.
Our data-driven marketing efforts track rental prices so your property can maximise its earning potential. It has helped us get a 90% occupancy rate for our existing partners and it allowed us to maintain a 4.8 Trustpilot rating over the years.
You can trust that your property will enjoy the same services should you choose to have your properties rented under our management.
Stop Worrying About Your Property Not Selling
You’re better off spending your energy prepping your property for letting.
At the start of the partnership, you’ll get a complete onboarding process that includes professional photography and 3D virtual tours. These will be uploaded on major letting sites like Rightmove, Airbnb, VRBO, Expedia, Zoopla, etc.
Your portfolio’s performance will be optimised through our smart platform, Opago. It’ll give you 24/7 access to your property’s calendar, in-house operations, etc.
This should be enough reason for you to stop worrying about your property not selling. Learn more about what it means to rent your property first before selling it when the right market condition comes.
If you’re interested in knowing more about our property management services, or you just want an expert opinion about your property in general, feel free to contact our experts today.
