Property News of the Week

So this is Christmas…

Welcome to our “festive” edition of Property News of the Week. Before we bring you the latest property news from across the UK; Property with Potential would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and whatever you’re doing, we hope you enjoy the break.

ANYWAY, the world of property doesn’t stop just because it’s Christmas (although this is a festive edition). Here’s what has happened this week…

The worst Christmas decorations 2019 edition

Leading tradespeople comparison website, HaMuch.com, has looked at some of the worst lighting displays and Christmas decorations to have made it into the festive season to highlight how not to Christmas if you don’t want to offend your neighbours, friends and family.

Light displays

Some people go all out on lighting up their homes but not everyone gets it right. Sometimes lights can accidentally look like something they weren’t intended to… like the below displays.

Although sometimes the end product is very much intended like this hand gesture and playful use of Christmas imagery.

On the opposite side of the fence, some homeowners appear to give it their best shot but the result is just dire. We’re not sure if this is supposed to show the aftermath of a traffic accident or if it’s just really, really badly put together. Whatever it is, it certainly doesn’t scream joy to all men.

Some look professionally put together but could be viewed in poor taste by some. But hey, it’s a long sleigh ride around the world and when you gotta go, you gotta go.

But it’s not just the outside of the house where people can get it wrong.

Again, questionable interior decorations range from the unintended like this Santa holding a, ummm, candle. There’s also weaponised tree hangers, alternative fairies for the tree and a wide array of items depicting nudity and sexual acts. Not quite fun for the whole family and could throw up some difficult questions from the young ones.

Founder and CEO of HaMuch.com, Tarquin Purdie, commented:

“From the imaginative to the accidental and even the flat out wrong, some of us see Christmas as an opportunity to go against the grain and showcase our individuality with some weird and wonderful lighting displays or decorations.

Outside of the house, phallic symbols, rude words and gestures, or the expulsion of some form of bodily substance seem to be the most common occurrences, whilst behind closed doors and in the privacy of our own home decorations of a risqué nature with a focus on nudity seem to prevail. Not sure what that says about us as a nation, but Merry Christmas to one and all.”

Forget the Boxing Day Bounce, selling in the New Year is the way to go

Leading estate agent comparison site, GetAgent.co.uk, has looked at whether the myths surrounding a property sale at Christmas are true, and if it really is the most wonderful time of the year for UK homesellers.

It’s widely believed that December provides a good opportunity to sell as the holiday period brings a huge spike in the number of people crawling the portals, looking for a house with a fresh start in mind for the coming year.

But with little in the way of actual viewings, does this additional traffic to the portals actually help a sale?

Selling in December

Land Registry data on actual sales during December shows that there is a fair amount of market activity with 79,754 sales registered during the month last year, the sixth highest of all months of the year.

But while December holds its own in terms of sales volume, the average sold price hit just £289,801, the lowest throughout the year other than just May and February.

The Boxing Day Bounce?

For those relying on the Boxing Day Bounce to boost their home selling chances, it seems to be more of a Rightmove marketing gimmick rather than a property selling silver bullet. With the average time to sell currently at 162 days across the UK, going live online on Boxing Day would still see the average home seller wait until the start of June to complete on a sale.

Last year June saw the third-highest number of property transactions, however, the month also saw home sellers transact at an average price of £292,158, only the sixth highest sold price of all months of the year.

July, August and September all saw the average sold price breach the £300,000 mark with August also seeing the largest number of transactions.

So for those looking for the quickest sale, taking advantage of a quiet period in the industry to get their ducks in a row will see them a step ahead come January, however, it could also see them pushed down the pecking order and for those looking for the best price, it’s better to wait until the festive dust has settled to kick things off.

Founder and CEO of GetAgent.co.uk, Colby Short, commented:

“There’s no doubting that once the Queen’s speech has ended and we collapse on the sofa in a food coma, many of us take to the portals to do a bit of property searching. However, Aunty Tina the tyre kicker, flicking through homes while on her third sherry, probably isn’t in the serious buyer you want to attract.

While listing views are great, a large degree of exposure with little interest or enquiry can be disheartening, and opting to burn your home’s initial launch momentum on the wrong audience could actually be detrimental to your sale.

Not only will a festive hangover mean they’ll probably forget all about your home, come January a fresh influx of stock will see your property pushed down the rankings, out of sight and out of mind to those with serious intentions of buying.

So while the data shows that the Boxing Day Bounce will provide a good chance of transacting come June, you are far better off waiting until it’s business as usual and listing your home at the start of the New Year, in order to achieve a better price come completion time in July or August.”

Housing delivery up with a 24% increase in affordable homes

The latest data from Homes England shows that between April and September of this year there were: -

• 16,955 housing starts and 14,792 completions delivered by schemes managed by Homes England (Excluding London).
• Starts are at their highest for 10 years, however completions have dropped year on year although they remain at their second highest levels since 2011.
• 73% of starts were for affordable homes, up 24% year on year.
• 10,295 completions were delivered as affordable homes, 70% of the total. Although this is a reduction of 7% year on year.

Founder and CEO of Stone Real Estate, Michael Stone, commented:

“Good news on the face of it with a commendable number of homes being delivered, with the majority of these being affordable.

While the devil in the detail is a slight drop in completions, the level of homes being delivered is still some of the highest in the last 10 years.

Wider market trends suggest that with such a positive uplift in the number of homes started, the knock-on effect will be yet a further increase in the level of homes being delivered early next year, despite who takes the keys to number 10.”

New build homebuyer activity set to spike as busiest time of the year approaches

Latest research has revealed that the level of new build properties being sold accelerates as we head into December, while sales across the regular market drop gear in the run-up to Christmas.

A number of transactions were looked at across each area of the market over the last five years, what percentage of total transactions they accounted for in each year, and how this compared to the previous months.

The research shows that on average over the last five years, the number of new build transactions in December accounts for 11.9% of total new build transactions for the year. In contrast, the number of existing homes sold during the last month of the year accounted for just 8.2% of all sales on average.

What’s more, December is the only other month of the year where new build sales hit double-digits as a percentage of total yearly sales along with June, with both months consistently ranking as the busiest in the new build calendar over the last five years.

There is also a clear trend whereby the number of new-build sales falls considerably following the June peak and then slowly gains momentum heading towards Christmas. On the other hand, existing property sales tend to see a gradual decline from August and September heading into the festive season.