When it comes to selling a property, especially in the middle to higher end market in Coventry and its surrounding areas, the decision to employ a local estate agent can significantly impact the outcome of your sale. The expertise and services offered by a high-quality local estate agent go beyond the simple act of listing a property. They encompass premium marketing strategies, in-depth local market knowledge, and a level of personalised service that can be pivotal in achieving a successful sale. Here, we delve into the reasons why opting for a local estate agent, despite a potentially higher commission, is a worthwhile investment for sellers of premium properties.
Premium Quality Marketing
In the competitive real estate market, the way a property is presented can make a substantial difference in attracting the right buyers. Local estate agents specializing in the upper-tier market possess the tools and expertise to create high-quality, compelling marketing materials. From professional photography and virtual tours to bespoke brochures and targeted online advertising, these agents ensure that your property stands out in the crowded marketplace. This level of marketing sophistication is crucial for premium properties, where the target buyer’s expectations are significantly higher.
In-depth Local Market Knowledge
Local Coventry estate agents bring invaluable insight into the area’s property market dynamics. Their understanding of local trends, pricing strategies, and buyer demographics is accumulated through years of experience and continuous market analysis. This knowledge enables them to accurately value your property, ensuring it is priced competitively yet attractively to potential buyers. Additionally, their awareness of upcoming developments and local amenities can be leveraged to highlight the unique selling points of your property, further enhancing its appeal.
Personalised Service
Selling a premium property requires a tailored approach. Local estate agents provide a level of personalisation and dedication that is often missing in broader, more generic services. They take the time to understand your specific needs and preferences, offering guidance and support throughout the entire selling process. This includes selecting the right marketing strategies, conducting viewings with potential buyers, and negotiating offers to ensure you achieve the best possible outcome. Their commitment to your sale is a testament to the value they place on client satisfaction and success.
Quicker Sale and Higher Sale Price
Ultimately, the combination of premium marketing, local expertise, and personalised service increases the likelihood of a quicker sale and a higher sale price. While the initial cost of hiring a local estate agent may be higher due to their commission, the return on this investment can be substantial. A well-marketed property, priced accurately and promoted by an agent with a deep understanding of the local market, is more likely to attract serious buyers willing to pay a premium. Furthermore, the agent’s negotiation skills can ensure that the final sale price reflects the true value of your property.
Conclusion
In the competitive and nuanced market of Coventry and its surroundings, selling a middle to higher-end property demands a strategic approach. Partnering with a local estate agent who offers premium marketing, possesses local market knowledge, and delivers personalised service can make a significant difference in the success of your sale. Although the cost of their commission may seem like a considerable outlay initially, the value they bring in terms of achieving a quicker sale and securing a higher sale price cannot be understated. Investing in quality estate agent services is not merely an expense but a strategic decision that is likely to be more than repaid in the sale’s outcome.
Elizabeth Davenport, the Warwickshire Estate & Letting Agents & Yeoman & Owen Estate Agents based in Coundon, have announced an acquisition of stock.
Davenports have taken on the majority of sale stock of Yeoman & Owen, who are going to be specialising in the mortgages and financial services area of their business. The deal allows both parties to advance in their favoured sectors whilst keeping all of their clients happy.
Matt Owen of Yeoman & Owen was pleased to announce “This focus will allow us to grow our mortgage and financial services business, whilst continuing to offer the personal and tailored service that our existing clients are accustomed to. At the same time, we are delighted to be working closely with Elizabeth Davenport who will take on the majority of our sales properties.”
Yeoman & Owen, established back in 2004, have been a respected and well known name in the west of the city and have built a solid reputation based on excellent customer service. Matthew has been a financial adviser for 30 years and set up Yeoman&Owen Financial Services in 2015 offering independent mortgage and protection advice.
Elizabeth Davenport Director Nick Luntley said “There are only a few other agents we could work with and we didn’t hesitate at the chance to work closely with Matt and his team at Yeoman and Owen.”
“We are pleased to be increasing our market share on the west side of Coventry. Affluent districts such as Coundon, Allesley and the Broad Lane area align directly with our business strategy. This is quite a coup for us to be able to increase our portfolio of stock. Thanks must go to Matt and his team for helping to make the transition a very smooth one.”
Davenports, who have branches in Coventry, Kenilworth & Stratford upon Avon, were established in 2009 and operate sales and lettings departments throughout the region.
The deal has been struck at a challenging time for the property and mortgage markets. However, both companies firmly believe the future is bright for the Coventry housing market with long term demand still outstripping supply.
Matt Owen commented “We believe 2024 will bring renewed activity in the property sector. Many people need to move home or sell for a variety of reasons, at the same time needing finance to facilitate the purchase of their next property. Being an independent mortgage adviser means we can source and advise the right financial solution. Coventry has seen a lot of investment over recent years and is attracting buyers from out of the area, so the future looks bright.”
Unveiling Opportunities in Coventry’s Property Rental Market for Landlords and Investors
The property rental market in Coventry, a historic city in the heart of England, is currently displaying an impressive resilience and a diverse range of opportunities for landlords and investors. Coventry’s unique blend of cultural heritage, academic excellence, and economic vibrancy continues to draw people from all walks of life, thus driving the city’s property rental market.
Strengths of Coventry’s Rental Market
Coventry is home to two highly-rated universities, the University of Warwick and Coventry University, attracting a substantial influx of students every year. This consistent demand for student housing provides an excellent opportunity for landlords and investors, with HMO (Houses in Multiple Occupation) properties offering particularly high yields. Besides, an increasing number of post-graduates and young professionals, attracted by the burgeoning tech and creative sectors in Coventry, are adding to the rental demand, particularly for city-centre apartments and shared housing.
The city’s strategic location, excellent transport links, and affordable property prices compared to larger cities like London and Birmingham, have also contributed to its appeal. Coventry has also received further enhancements to its infrastructure, including improvements to the train station and public transportation services, largely due to the city being the UK City of Culture in 2021. These developments are expected to draw more residents to the city, further stimulating the rental market.
Opportunities for Landlords and Investors
Student Rentals: With its significant student population, landlords can expect steady demand for student rental properties. Investments in HMOs can yield excellent returns, especially those close to the universities. However, investors need to consider the stringent regulations and licensing for such properties.
City Centre Apartments: There is an increasing demand for one- or two-bedroom apartments in the city centre, especially from young professionals. With ongoing regeneration and development projects in the city centre, properties in these areas could potentially appreciate in value over the medium to long term.
Suburban Family Homes: Family homes in the suburban areas of Coventry, such as Earlsdon and Styvechale, continue to be sought after. These properties generally attract long-term tenants, providing landlords with a stable income stream and reduced vacancies.
Buy-to-Let: The Coventry property market offers an appealing prospect for buy-to-let investors, given the city’s growing population and strong rental yields. Furthermore, Coventry’s status as a rising tech hub could potentially attract an influx of professionals seeking rental properties in the coming years.
Considerations for Investment
While opportunities abound in Coventry’s rental market, investors must consider several factors. Firstly, it’s crucial to understand local regulations related to rental properties, such as licensing requirements for HMOs and energy efficiency standards.
Additionally, market research is crucial. This includes identifying high-demand areas, understanding tenant needs, and predicting future trends. Investors should also factor in property management costs, including maintenance, insurances, and potential vacancy periods.
Finally, it’s important to consider the potential impacts of the global economic situation, such as interest rate changes and Brexit-related implications, on the local property market.
In conclusion, Coventry’s property rental market offers substantial opportunities for landlords and investors, fuelled by the city’s academic, cultural, and economic growth. However, thorough research, a comprehensive understanding of local regulations, and sound financial planning are all essential components for success in this vibrant market.
For expert up to date advice on investing in the area speak to Elizabeth Davenport, the leading Coventry Letting Agents.
As the British and Coventry property market navigates the ongoing economic turmoil, many Coventry homeowners and landlords may feel uncertain about the future.
However, up-to-date data suggests that the 2023 property crash predicted by the many newspapers and the usual clickbait doom-mongers in the lead-up to Christmas on social media, may not be as bad as initially thought, and there are reasons to be cautiously optimistic.
According to property website Rightmove, the average asking price of a home for sale in the UK rose by just £14 in February.
While this might sound like cause for concern, asking prices remaining flat rather than falling could be seen as a positive sign for the year ahead. Remember that they are only what people are asking (and not necessarily achieving).
So, what exactly is happening in the Coventry property market?
Well, it all starts with realistic pricing.
Thankfully, most Coventry sellers are heeding their estate agents’ advice and being more realistic on price, helping maintain market stability.
If you are realistic with pricing, the property should sell.
The time it takes to get a property to sale agreed upon has increased nationally from 21 days in the summer of 2022 to around 50 days in Q1 2023.
Additionally, despite the turbulent economic conditions, buyer demand is rising. Rightmove also reported in the national press that the number of people contacting estate agents has increased by 11% in the last two weeks compared to the same period in 2019.
The number of sales agreed upon has also rebounded.
Nationally, from 1st January to the 19th February 2023,
134,886 properties had been sold subject to contract in the UK.
Not a good figure when I compare it with the same year-to-date sale agreed figures from the last couple of years.
2022 – 173,607 properties sold stc
2021 – 193,607 properties sold stc
But the last couple of years have been extraordinary for the UK property market and should be taken with a pinch of salt in some respect. We must compare 2023 with more normal years, like 2017/18/19/20. This tells a different story.
2020 – 151,694 properties sold stc
2019 – 143,504 properties sold stc
2018 – 138,665 properties sold stc
2017 – 134,503 properties sold stc
In Coventry (CV6 to CV8), in the first seven weeks up to the 19th February 2022, 961 properties sold subject to contract.
This year, from the exact 1st January to the 19th February timeline, 740 properties have sold stc, which is lower, yet in the same ballpark as 2017, 2018 and 2019.
Yet it is all terrific selling a house (subject to contract); it is still only sold subject to contract, meaning the sale could fall through (as it is not legally binding).
As an agent who likes to delve deeper into statistics, I considered the ‘net property sales’. (Net Property Sales being the gross number of properties sold that week less the sale fall throughs in the same week).
In the three months leading up to the Mini-Budget in September 2022, there was an average of 17,801 ‘net property sales’ per week in the UK. That dropped by 34.7% two months after the Autumn Mini-Budget to an average of 11,624 ‘net property sales’ per week in the UK.
In the last five weeks, that has rebounded to 17,050
‘net property sales’ per week.
And when you consider the average for the same five weeks in 2017/18/19 was 18,330 ‘net property sales’ per week, we are close to what many considered a normal market.
Improving market conditions has been supported by a reduction in average mortgage rates. Homebuyers taking out a five-year fixed-rate mortgage with a 15% deposit can expect a rate of 4.39% (correct at the time of writing with HSBC), down from an average of 6.1% in early October. This reduction in mortgage rates may have contributed to the recent increase in buyer demand.
These positive signs in the market have led some experts to suggest that a ‘softer landing’ for the UK property market than initially expected could be on the horizon.
The combination of sellers being more realistic on price and an improving picture of the number of agreed-upon sales suggests a more positive outlook for the property market.
I advise Coventry homeowners coming to market in the upcoming spring season to use their agent’s expertise and get the price right the first time to find the right buyer more quickly. If you do wish to chance a higher asking price, only do so for no more than two weeks. If you haven’t sold by then, take the agent’s advice and realign your asking price.
562 Coventry homeowners have realigned their
asking prices since 1st January 2023.
While it’s true that some first-time buyers may still be priced out of their original plans and may need to look for a cheaper property, save a bigger deposit, or factor higher monthly mortgage repayments into their budgets, there is still cause for optimism.
There is still a considerable demand for buying property in Coventry – renting is becoming increasingly unattractive for many people as rents are increasing by double digits percentages.
It is important to remember that purchasing a property always involves a trade-off between what one desires and what is affordable, regardless of the market conditions. For example, while a four-bed detached house may be out of reach, a larger and older three-bed semi-detached property may be a more realistic option (and probably have similar square footage).
Coventry landlords looking to invest in buy-to-let homes – now may be a good time, as rising rents could offer attractive returns.
Of the 1,462 properties let in Coventry since the 1st January 2023, the average rent achieved has been £1,205 per month. This is a significant drop in the number of properties let in the same first seven weeks of the years of 2017/18/19 and a massive increase in rents.
Finally, the newspapers will be full of news about house price drops in the coming months. All the indexes report house sales where the sale agreed price was offered nine to eleven months ago and completed (i.e., monies and keys handed over) three or four months ago. This peculiar time lag means the house price data is nearly a year old before publication.
So, if you decide to buy a home on that information, you are using old property data. In late 2021/early 2022, there were 30+ viewings per property, and people paid way over the asking price to secure a property. Now there is more ‘normality’ in the Coventry housing market; today’s prices are also more normal (at or slightly below the realistic asking price). So yes, the house price indexes will show a reduction in house prices. The newspapers will say house prices are crashing, yet when it is explained I have above … whilst it is not a newspaper clickbait title – it is the truth and it’s more of a return to more ‘normal house prices’.
So, prepare for clickbait newspaper headlines of a house price crash (because ‘bad news sells newspapers’ as the saying goes).
Also, prepare for the doom-mongers to quote the bad news of the earnings-to-house prices ratio at one of its highest levels ever.
Earnings-to-house price ratios are a poor measurement of health in the UK property market. Instead, I believe Nationwide’s measure of first-time buyer mortgage payments as a percentage of take-home pay is better (as it is actual pound notes out of actual pay packets).
The Nationwide measure of first-time buyer mortgage payments as a percentage of take-home pay has grown for first-time buyers from 30.4% in Q4 2021 to 39.4% in Q4 2022 … a massive rise! Yet mortgage interest rates have dropped since then (so that percentage will fall). Also, to give some context, let us not forget that percentage in 1989 was 48.4%.
Ultimately, Coventry homeowners and landlords should decide, based on their unique circumstances, rather than being swayed by newspaper headlines or general market trends. Anyone uncertain about the property market’s future should contact me for my opinion, advice and guidance.
The Coventry housing market over the last three months is now becoming more ‘normal’ after the last couple of years of insane demand when the lockdowns started a race for space!
Even with the blackening economic doom-mongers forecasting a harsh slowdown in the British property market, the number of people buying and selling their homes is still very good for the time of year.
Whilst many homeowners are reducing their asking prices, it is not the 20% (some even said 30%) drop some property commentators and newspaper journalists had predicted.
Looking at the stats for Coventry for the last three months since the disastrous Truss mini budget – they make good reading.
Of the 978 Coventry properties that have sold (stc) since late September, the average length of time it took to achieve a sale was 36 days.
Interesting when you split it down by price, in Coventry:
Under £100k – 36 days
£100k to £200k – 29 days
£200k to £300k – 37 days
£300k to £400k – 49 days
£400k to £500k – 46 days
£500k to £1m – 41 days
£1m and above – 105 days
And by type:
Coventry Apartment/Flat – 40 days
Coventry Terraced/Townhouse – 35 days
Coventry Semi-Detached – 29 days
Coventry Detached – 43 days
The latest sold price data from the Land Registry shows that Coventry house prices currently remain 12.6% higher than they were 12 months ago; the rate of growth has dropped significantly.
Last month, Coventry house prices dropped by 0.3%; thus, we are seeing the first sign that the property market is starting to cool.
With interest rates at 3.5% and further increases likely in 2023, that will undoubtedly spur ongoing cooling in Coventry property values yet it’s doubtful we will see the Coventry property market go into the deep freeze that many doom-mongers were predicting.
As I said in recent articles on the Coventry property market, we will see a 5% to 10% reduction in Coventry house prices over the next 12 to 18 months.
That will only take us back to the prices achieved in mid/late 2021 or early 2022 (depending on the property type).
Landlords have experienced double-digit rent growth in the last 12/18 months with a shortage of rental properties coming onto the market. I cannot see this changing in the short term, so I expect rents to be a further 10% higher by Christmas 2023.
Last week I stated it is not always wise to only focus on house prices but also take reference from the number of property transactions completed that feed the fire of the British property market.
For example, in March 2021, 135,670 properties sold, yet a month later, it dropped to 87,600. A couple of months later, it rose again in June 2021 to 165,290 homes sold (for it to drop to 64,000 in July).
Whilst this is good news for estate agents and removals companies, it can skew the property market and put undue pressure on the property market (pressure which could cause a housing crash if not put under check).
Like most things – slow, steady and consistent is the preferred option for the property market. Throughout 2022, the number of properties selling in the UK has been a steady average of 68,832 per month, ranging from a low of 61,800 in January 2022 to 72,200 in July 2022.
This consistency will continue into 2023 and a return to a more ‘normal’ housing market.
One final thing I have noticed about the Coventry property market in the last six months is the number of larger properties coming onto the market that last sold over 25 years ago.
Homeowners in their 20s, 30s and early 40s tend to move every five or six years, yet when they reach their late 40s and 50s, they tend to stay put for longer. These properties only tend to come on the market when people pass away or must be sold for nursing home fees.
These mature homeowners are downsizing for several reasons. Their children have flown the nest and they’re rattling around in homes with accommodation they don’t need. Many are being driven to sell their large homes in light of mounting energy bills, high inflation and never-ending maintenance costs that larger properties demand.
The second reason is that the recent rises in Coventry house prices has meant the money released to downsize has grown, meaning if these mature homeowners sell up and cash in to more manageable properties, the amount of money released is quite impressive.
In conclusion, 2023 is going to be a more ‘normal’ year, akin to the 2016 to 2019 years. Coventry homeowners need to be realistic with their pricing, yet as over eight out of ten sellers buy another home, the one you buy will be lower.
If you are considering selling your Coventry home in 2023 and would like a chat about your options, feel free to drop me a line or call the office.
