I had an interesting question the other day
from a homeowner in Questor who asked me the difference between asking prices
and values and why it mattered. When it comes to selling property, there must be
agreement between the purchaser (buyer) and seller (vendor) for a property sale
to take place. The value a buyer applies to a property can massively differ
from the value a seller or mortgage company places upon it. The seller, the
buyer and the mortgage company must find an agreeable value to assign to a
property so the sale can proceed.
In many of my articles about the Dartford property
market, I talk about values, i.e. what
property in Dartford actually sells for, but I haven’t spoken about asking
prices for while. Now asking prices are important as they are one of the four key matters
a potential buyer will judge your property on (the others being location,
bedrooms and type). Price yourself too high and you will put off buyers. So
let’s take a look at the Dartford numbers.
Over the last 12 months asking prices (i.e. the price advertised in the
paper and on Zoopla) in Dartford have increased by 18%, taking the average
asking price in Dartford to £354,400 (up from £301,200 twelve months ago).
Interestingly, when we look at, say detached and terraced property, a
slightly different picture appears. Twelve months ago, the average asking price
for a detached house in Dartford was £630,500 and today its £662,500 (a rise of
5%); whilst over the same 12-month period, the average asking price of a
terraced property was £254,600 a year ago, and today its £305,600 (a rise of 20%).
My research shows that the supply of property for sale in Dartford is beginning
to increase too. In December 2015, there were 149 on the market in Dartford
today there are 207 properties on the market (up 39%). This will mean
homeowners looking to sell will need to be conscious of how their property
compares against others on the Dartford property market. The Dartford property
market still has substantial momentum and sufficient demand remains to provoke
more modest asking price rises. This noteworthy increase in supply since
Christmas is currently providing more choice for buyers and is tempering asking
price rises - and here is the devil in the detail - 10% of the overall 18%
annual figure (mentioned in para 3) has appeared since December.
… And here is the second point to make. Asking prices are one thing, but
what a property sells for (i.e. value) is a completely different matter. These
are the average prices achieved (i.e. what they sold for or the average
value) for property in Dartford over the last 12 months...
·
Overall Average £270,500
·
Detached £456,000
·
Terraced £262,500
You can quite clearly see, there is a difference between what people are
asking for property and what it is selling for. The underlying fundamentals of
low interest mortgages and tight supply remain prevalent in the Dartford
property market however, the number one lesson has to be this ... if you want
to sell, be realistic with your pricing.
