New research has revealed the property search hack that can slash an average of £22,000 off a buyer’s purchase price.
The research has revealed that by focussing their search on just one type of property – namely quick sale properties – property investors can make big savings.
With the housing market experiencing a period of exceptional growth, and the level of supply not keeping up with demand driving property prices 9.9 per cent higher than this time last year, it can be tough for investors to find bargains.
However, the researchers found that there are some sellers who are willing to compromise on price to secure buyers who are able to complete their purchase quickly.
In fact, while the average property price paid in England is currently £252,671, the average price for a property that has been listed as a ‘quick sale’ property is £22,000 cheaper at £230,428, thereby offering a potential saving of 8.8 per cent.
According to the research, the biggest savings to be had are in Yorkshire & Humber where the average price for a quick sale property is 14.8 per cent, or roughly £24,000 below the regional average, while in the North East, the average quick sale could save buyers an average of 14.3%.
There are also great savings available in the West Midlands (10.2%), London (9.9%), and the North West (9.6%).
In order to take advantage of these savings, buyers have got to be prepared to move swiftly to complete the sales process and there are a few things they can do to make their offers as attractive as possible.
– have a mortgage approved in principle before submitting an offer. Having proof of agreed funds will be essential to convince sellers you are a strong option; it will also speed up the process for you.
-be chain free. If you don’t have a property to sell this will put you in a great position to secure a quick sale.
-be a cash buyer. If you are a cash buyer, you will be an attractive option for a seller as you won’t need to wait or rely on mortgage approval to proceed with the purchase.
How to Find ‘Quick Sale’ Properties?
When you are looking for quick sale properties one of your first ports of call should be your local estate agents to ask if they are representing a seller who is keen to sell quickly or has listed below market value or they know would be willing to take an offer.
Secondly, most of the leading property portals enable searches to be filtered by terms such as ‘quick sale’ so a really useful for finding these below-market price deals.
Chris Hodgkinson, Managing Director of HBB Solutions that conducted the research, commented: “People often assume that sellers are interested in one thing only: getting as much money for their property as is humanly possible. But this isn’t always the case. For example, lots of people move home because of changing life circumstances, such as new jobs, bereavements or the start of, or breakdown of a relationship, and this means speed is of the essence.
In these instances, a buyer in a strong position is often far more preferable to one with a bigger cheque book and sellers in need of a quick sale will return the favour in the form of some quite notable asking price reductions.”
