“Prices are rising and the market is booming,” or so many agents are saying at the moment.  Now that we’re a third of the way through 2015, it’s worth us taking stock and analysing what is actually going on in the local housing market.

So far this year we have been agreeing sales at a much faster rate than houses have been coming on to the market, causing a stark shortage of supply.  Demand persists unabated.

This is a frustrating situation for buyers who may have a pressing need to move to the area, an imminent job relocation perhaps.  There is usually a slight hesitancy of sellers in the run up to a general election, but we and potential purchasers are frustrated by another very important dynamic in the market.  With new instructions in such short supply, some unscrupulous estate agents are overvaluing excessively to persuade potential vendors to list with them, in part to meet corporate targets.  We would caution those thinking of selling that this is often counter-productive to achieving a sale in a reasonable timeframe and for the best price.

Recent analysis of one of our local competitors showed that 60% of their currently available property stock has been reduced from the initial asking price and by an average of nearly 8%.  That’s an average reduction of about £25,000 if we take £300,000 as an approximate average house price.  This can hardly be what was promised to their vendors at the outset.

At Adams Estate Agents we base our advice on integrity and 52 years of experience in Winchcombe and the surrounding villages.  We work together with our clients to achieve their goals; we consistently sell for an average of over 97% of our Guide Prices and have agreed nearly 2 1/2 times more sales than our nearest competitor over the last year.

Ben Moss, Sales Manager, Winchcombe office.