Local Housing Market Continues to Buck the Trend

Published on: 15 Aug, 2012
Updated on: 18 Aug, 2012

Property Market Report, August 2012

Paul Rickard of Seymours Guildford

By Paul Rickard, Director, Seymours Guildford

The market in Surrey continues to buck the national trend of sluggish sales. Here in our Guildford office we’ve had our best ever July in 20 years with sales up more than 10 per cent up on last year, and in Godalming Seymours recorded 5 sales in the first 6 days of August.

There are serious buyers, who are a mixture of local people and Londoners, either trading up, downsizing or coming out of rented accommodation. As ever, getting the pricing right is the key.

More and more buyers are very savvy, doing their research online, using price comparison sites and informing themselves on the market before making an offer. If the price is right, the buyers can be like a swarm of bees, we’ve found, and the Olympics have not slowed down the market here at all.

An indication of sales in Surrey is the fact that again in Godalming we’re short of stock and buyers are very keen to get properties in the £600,000 to £1 million bracket.

It seems that people are fed up waiting to see what will happen in the economy and feel they can’t put their lives on hold indefinitely, so they are putting their homes on sale. In the Ripley area we are finding a number of houses preparing to come on the market for the beginning of September.

Altogether we are optimistic, and despite the national picture, the Surrey market is anything but flat, which is all the more remarkable with the combination of the holiday period, the wet weather and the distraction of a marvellous Olympics.

Of course, it helps having a London presence in our Mayfair office and links with 700 independent estate agents nationwide, as members of the Guild of Professional Estate Agents. That immediately raises our profile in London and beyond, and we’ve also found that our Video Tours with moving pictures showing people round properties on our website, have certainly boosted interest.

Sales Tips

Preparing for viewings (Part 1): the front of the house

A recent survey of 3,000 consumers by Rightmove found that 70% decided to buy the house either when they first arrived for a viewing or before getting past the hallway.
So, it’s vital to make sure the first impressions are positive.
That means a tidy, welcoming driveway and/or front garden (dead-head your roses and freshen up your pots.
Also have well-painted front window frames and clean windows.
The front door should also avoid any peeling paint or cobwebs and the knocker should be sparkling.
For evening visits, check that all the outside lights are working and that people can park, even if it means your vacating the front drive to make sure they don’t have any hassle.

Seymours are at: www.seymours-estates.co.uk and the Guildford Office is at: Tel. (01483) 576 833.

Click here to see report on latest Guildford House Sales