BREAKING NEWS – top 5 stories 05/05/2021
BUYING A NEW HOME COULD MEAN PAYING A 25% PREMIUM ACCORDING TO 20Ci
Ian Lancaster CEO of TwentyCI Group has just announced some astonishing analysis, that those buying new homes are now paying a huge amount for the benefit of buying in this way.
He states, ‘Well, the facts are that the new build premium across the whole of England and Wales is around 25%. On average, which is of course significantly skewed by London prices, people buy a new build for £316k versus an equivalent resale property for £253k. So, a saving of £63k to buy a resale property.
For the vast majority of people, a £63k saving buys a significant number of home improvements. If you are selling kitchens, bathrooms, furniture, electricals, or soft furnishings; the resale market provides a fertile “hunting ground” to acquire new customers’.
Ian further points out, ‘Let’s start with the region of England where you would end up paying the highest percentage premium for a new build property – the North East.
The median price (the middle value if ranked in order) of a typical new build in the North East is £201,950, but the median value of a typical resale property is only £125,000. This means that buyers are paying nearly 65% more for new build properties than they would for the equivalent resale property.
If we just focus on the grey line, with the knowledge that the regions from left to right are broadly North to South, we can observe that the new build premiums are much higher in the North, the Midlands, and Wales than they are in the South of the country.
Further, the only place in England that buyers (on average) would pay less for a new build than a resale property is Outer London. In fact, in London as a whole, the new build premium is relatively low. In the South, new build premiums are about 14%.
LOU QUINN AND JOHN CURLEY OF HOMEHERE – FOCUS ON VALUE OF PROPERTY PORTALS
I must disclose a relationship as Homehere are clients of Proptech-PR, but this in no way diminishes the sterling work they are doing with regard to giving agents insight into how and what property portals do for them.
Recently they reported how much business agents generate from their own websites, around 40% and what the other portals generate for them.
As Lou Quinn states, he wants to help agents, ‘Homehere’s unique digital front of house experience instantly engages every person who expresses and interest in your property listing whether it’s on Rightmove, Zoopla, OnTheMarket or your own website. More intel – https://www.homehere.co/
JUST MORTGAGES ANNOUNCES WORK FROM HOME SCHEME FOR ITS BROKERS
John Phillips, who heads up ‘Just Mortgages’ has stated that following lockdown, experienced brokers who wish to take up the option can work remotely from home, in a move that will see clients being generated by front end agency activity. It will be interesting to see what the take up for this will be.
NEW INSTRUCTIONS TO MARKET AT ALL TIME LOW
Yesterday an Independent agent stated that new properties coming to the market where now in single digit terms, having listed 15 properties the previous month with 14 sales resulting. With over 30 years in the business the property professional said that looking at all the analytics on the portals the agency was getting its fair share, but if in May it only listed 8 or 8 properties that would mean sales would start to be at a dangerously low level.
He also said that Vendors greed was now a big factor, with new listings coming on at huge prices, spurred on by the lack of stock. Bad news for all stakeholders as with fewer houses to buy, potential vendors will sit back unsure as to where to go next.
IT IS NOT JUST ENGLAND SEEING A SPIKE IN SALES – IRELAND IS TOO
According to Philip Farrell, co-founder of OFFR the Irish housing market is also extremely hot,
‘To put things into perspective, Ireland, which has a very similar property market makeup – demographics, sales process, legal system & an acute shortage in supply, is currently experiencing very similar market symptoms. The key difference is that stamp duty was already at a level of 1% & did not change during the pandemic.
The temporary relief in the UK has simply acted as an accelerant to an already changing market. Affordability, a decrease in the supply of new homes caused by Covid, a reluctance by people to put properties on the market during the crisis & a shift in human appreciation of the home have been every bit as relevant as the extended stamp duty relief’.
For more information on OFFR a company that looks to ‘ Transform your website into a transactional site in a matter of minutes with the Offr button fully customised to your brand colours. Buyers can then arrange viewings, place offers, bid in auctions and so much more’. https://offr.io/
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