Asking Prices of Harlow Property up 4%
since December
I had an interesting question the other day
from a homeowner in Latton Bush who asked me the difference between asking
prices and values and why it mattered. When it comes to selling property, there
must be agreement between the purchaser (buyer) and seller (vendor) for a
property sale to take place. The value a buyer applies to a property can
massively differ from the value a seller or mortgage company places upon it.
The seller, the buyer and the mortgage company must find an agreeable value to
assign to a property so the sale can proceed.
In many of my articles about the Harlow
property market, I talk about values, i.e. what property in Harlow actually
sells for, but I haven’t spoken about asking prices for while. Now asking
prices are important as they are one of the four key matters a potential buyer
will judge your property on (the others being location, bedrooms and type).
Price yourself too high and you will put off buyers. So let’s take a look at
the Harlow numbers.
Over the last 12 months asking prices (i.e.
the price advertised in the paper and on Rightmove) in Harlow have increased by
25%, taking the average asking price in Harlow to £570,800 (up from £456,300
twelve months ago).
Interestingly though, when we look at, say
detached and terraced property, a slightly different picture appears. Twelve
months ago, the average asking price for a detached house in Harlow was £742,300
and today its £837,700 (a rise of 13%); whilst over the same 12-month period,
the average asking price of a terraced property was £234,300 a year ago, and
today its £296,700 (a rise of 27%).
However, my research shows that the supply
of property for sale in Harlow is beginning to increase. In December 2015,
there were 245 on the market in Harlow today there are 284 properties on the
market (up 16%). This will mean homeowners looking to sell will need to be
conscious of how their property compares against others on the Harlow property
market. The Harlow property market still has substantial momentum and
sufficient demand remains to provoke more modest asking price rises. This
noteworthy increase in supply since Christmas is currently providing more
choice for buyers and is tempering asking price rises - and here is the devil
in the detail - only 4% of the overall 25% annual figure (mentioned in para 3)
has appeared since December.
… And here is the second point to make.
Asking prices are one thing, but what a property sells for (i.e. value) is a
completely different matter. These are the average prices achieved (i.e. what
they sold for or the average value) for property in Harlow over the last 12
months...
Overall Average £270,900
Detached £478,100
Terraced £240,100
You can quite clearly see, there is a
difference between what people are asking for property and what it is selling
for. The underlying fundamentals of low interest mortgages and tight supply
remain prevalent in the Harlow property market however, the number one lesson
has to be this ... if you want to sell, be realistic with your pricing.