Given the property news of late, it’s no surprise that many potential home-movers have been ‘spooked’ somewhat, into either shelving or stalling their relocation plans for the foreseeable future.
Away from the often-tenuous headlines, however, the Maidenhead property market stands relatively resilient in the face of uncertainly, in a trend that owes - to a certain extent - to the town’s unwavering City-outskirt appeal.
As well, now, there is a narrow window of opportunity before the festive season begins, where those poised and determined to make their move, are putting their trust in the market, and the virtues of weighing up the media's narrative, with an informed and balanced local knowledge.
According to Geoff Tomlinson, Managing Director of Braxton Estate Agent in Maidenhead, ‘the right price point and marketing will afford properties joining the portals even in this eleventh hour of the year, a strong likelihood of being well-received on the open market.’
This is not least because, for many home-hunters, a search is driven by a necessity that is unaffected by even the traditional home-moving hiatus of Christmas. For these buyers, whose home-move motivations are rooted in career opportunities and education (for example), the headlines are not just incidental...but countered by the sliding scale of buying and selling prices in today’s market.
This theory of a still-active market, is supported by the fact that web traffic on Braxtons.co.uk remains steady, and on a par with the last ‘normal’ pre-pandemic year of 2019, which indicates that interest in searching for property remains high.
This is not to say, of course, that some changes aren’t occurring. Quite to the contrary, there has certainly been a flux of first-time buyers especially, who are having to recalibrate their calculations to ensure mortgage commitments are affordable. As well as this, slightly longer sale times and less buyer competition, are steadily becoming a hallmark of today’s more complex property market.
That said, what current home-hunters DO have to their advantage - that even perhaps those of earlier this year didn’t - is a stock of ready-to-buy properties with a ‘no onward chain’ string to their bow - a side effect of both Landlords streamlining their property portfolios, and the growing popularity of 'sell now, buy later.'
In such cases, where a buyer’s ‘chain’ ends with themselves, even the likelihood of a pre-Christmas completion would perhaps not be too far out of left field. More importantly, however, it’s from an ease and logistical perspective, that this indicator of a relatively uncomplicated purchase transaction becomes most appealing.
An example? This two-bedroom terraced home (pictured main) in the ever-popular Lowbrook School catchment.
Also, a new-to-market first floor maisonette of character in leafy Holyport (middle), and a two-bedroom ground floor apartment overlooking Maidenhead’s riverside (above).
In summary:
With all indications pointing towards a still active-property market, even seasonality considered, those debating selling their property before the New Year would be well poised to weigh the local market trends against wider property predictions, and to not confuse a 'fall in prices' with a drop in house price inflation. Lastly, it pays to consider that the supercharged market of the last few years, has perhaps set a deceptively high benchmark, and thereby likely played a small (but significant) part in misrepresenting today’s ‘normal’ market as 'low.'