Many are choosing to wait out the trouble and see what happens rather than selling their home for somewhere new. But with Brexit resolved (at least on paper), and the country coming to terms with lockdown and looking forwards the future, there may be a level of certainty soon returning to the market now could be the perfect time to look into selling again. If you are planning on selling up, here are some key things that you need to know.

The Fallout of COVID-19

It can’t be denied that COVID-19 has been disastrous for the housing market. It is not so much that demand has seen a dip, rather that the market has gone into deep freeze - everyone looking to buy or sell is looking to wait until some sort of certainty returns. However, life goes on and increasingly it will be necessary to understand how to get on with things in spite of the coronavirus.

It seems that lockdown won’t actually have a huge effect on house prices - demand for properties is still there, it is just currently frozen. So if you are thinking of selling, you need to be getting ready in spite of the restrictions of lockdown. Things can change quickly, and it may soon be the case that the market returns to a level of normality.

The Brexit Effect

It might seem like a lifetime ago, but no matter what you think about Brexit, there is no doubting the uncertainty surrounding the UK since the vote to leave. This has created a great sense of trepidation in terms of people being interested in investing their money, and buying property. Now the UK is officially leaving the EU, we can expect to see the market stabilise and confidence return.

Over the course of deciding the terms of Brexit there have been instances of house prices falling and people being reluctant to buy. The return to certainty – whether it is good in the long-term or not – should provide some relief to the property market, and make 2020 a good time to sell.

Now the UK is officially leaving the EU, we can expect to see the market stabilise and confidence return.

Consider a Range of Estate Agent Options

In 2020, the range of estate agent options that you have available is larger than ever. In general, estate agents now fall into two separate categories: those with a physical presence in the form of high street stores, and those who operate purely online.

There is no doubt that online agents generally offer a cheaper service – some, such as Purplebricks, charge a simple one-off fee and do not take commission. However, it is important to understand that you will get less in the way of services from them. Standard estate agents charge more but will typically do more to get your property sold.

Set a Realistic Asking Price

In the past, we have seen many homeowners take a ‘wait and see’ approach to selling their property. This sees them listing it at a very high price, hoping that someone will fall in love with the property and pay over what it is worth.

However, if you are looking to make a sale, this isn’t a wise move. It is a much better idea to set a realistic asking price. The process of selling can be drawn out enough without the challenge of overcoming an overly high price tag.

Kerb Appeal Matters

First impressions matter when it comes to selling a home, so there is no doubt that you need to think about the exterior of your property. Your home needs kerb appeal – when someone sees it for the first time, are they impressed or disappointed? If it is the latter then you need to prioritise making changes.

There are actually many ways to enhance your kerb appeal. But it is important to think about the specifics of your property – what really needs changing? Some homes could do with a new paint job, others would benefit from replacing an old, rusty garage door. Take a look at your home objectively, and ask yourself what is detracting from the overall look.

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Upgrade Your Kitchen

65% of homeowners renovate their kitchen before they sell. There is a good reason for this. The kitchen is seen as the focal point of the home, and it is somewhere that buyers will be drawn to, and will want to inspect. If your kitchen is looking a bit tired, now is the perfect time to make upgrades and improve the value of your home.

If you only have the budget to make home improvements in one area of the house, then it is definitely worth making that area the kitchen. Your budget will go a long way – replacing cupboard doors and handles can freshen up the whole look of the kitchen without breaking the bank.

Final Thoughts

The property market is certainly looking up, so now could be the perfect time to put your home up for sale. Be sure that you present your home in the best possible way – you might be surprised just how much of a difference this makes to the amount of money you can get for it.

If you owned land with the potential to rake in almost 900 million dollars, you would snap up the opportunity to make that eye-watering amount of cash… wouldn’t you? Compare the Market have conducted their analysis of wasted spaces around the world to reveal the countries and locations that are sitting on unused land, and letting the profits slip through their fingers.

Top 5 Countries Wasting Millions of Dollars on Property Potential

Ever considered venturing into the world of property development? It can be risky, but when the profits are this mind-bogglingly high, it can also be worth it. The Wasted Spaces study reveals the Housing

top five locations around the world with the potential to make the most cash if the owner, or countries, were to build houses on the land to sell on.

By analysing the cost of housing per square metre in each country, Compare the Market reveal the true figures to be made by selling property on these wasted spaces:

How Many Homes Could Be Created?

• The largest abandoned sports space, the 1936 Olympic Village, was built 82 years ago and remains disused. In that time, 1,600 homes could have been built on the land to house generations of families and 5,322 individuals at any given time
• Kolmanskop, a ghost town in Namibia is 989,384 square metres with enough space for 5,000 houses - meaning over 15,000 people could be housed
• Japan’s Nara Dreamland was left abandoned in 2006, and its eerie remains were demolished ten years later. The remaining space could have been used to build around 650 homes - housing around 1,257 people
• Malmo Stadion in Sweden is 60,288 square metres equating to around 8 football pitches. The now vacant space could house 807 people in 250 homes
• The Houston Astrodome, also the world’s first multi-purpose domed stadium, is now partially demolished but has the potential for 165 homes, housing 774 people

Country’s Debt

Germany tops the list as the country with the most amount of abandoned locations on the Wasted Spaces list. But, as the country with the fourth largest external debt - if they sold all of the land of wasted buildings they own in this study, they would have $994.3 million.

The US has the second highest amount of abandoned places on the list including Houston Astrodome, Pontiac Silverdome, Michigan Central Station, and Sterick Building. The total combined price of the land these derelict buildings are sitting on is $51.5 million -  out of their total external debt figure of $21 trillion.

With the ninth largest economy in the world, Brazil is renowned for their growing economy, they also have an excessive amount of debt. The country has one property on the wasted spaces list; the Olympic Aquatic Centre that is 13,269 square metres and an estimated land housing value of $14.8 million.

(Source: Compare the Market)

The Government estimates that between 225,000 and 275,000 homes need to be built per year to keep up with the rate of demand, however only 147,960 have been built for 2016/17 so far.

Many believe that this is because there is not enough money to buy the houses once they are built, as people cannot afford to get on the housing ladder due to the difficulty in saving enough deposit in order to get a mortgage, but this is not really the case as property priced at the more affordable end of the market, tends to be snapped up pretty quickly. In addition, the mortgage market has improved significantly and higher loan to value mortgages are once again available, although not at 100% loan to value as they were before the credit crunch.

There has been criticism over the government’s promise of a £2bn injection to help with funding to build social housing, as Downing Street aides have stated that this will only fund 5,000 of the 60,000 extra new houses needed to be built each year.  Funding is certainly not the major issue and we look at the main problems surrounding building more houses:

Loss of workers thanks to credit crunch and Brexit

When the credit crunch first hit in late 2007, 100% and high loan-to-value mortgages literally disappeared overnight. It happened so fast that even mortgage offers already in place were not honoured as lenders’ funds disappeared. The difficulty obtaining a mortgage made the desire of buying a house nearly impossible for a lot of people. Less people to buy houses impacted builders and property developers very quickly and left them with a lack of work. The demand for tradespeople such as carpenters, plumbers, electricians, bricklayers, etc. was decimated. It is important to realise that this was not a gradual decline over a number of years, it was a massive decline that happened over a matter of months.

The industry shrunk quickly and many people lost their jobs. As so many people skilled in the same trades lost their jobs and were unable to find more work doing the same thing, they were forced to find work outside the building industry and re-train in different sectors.

Over the last ten years, less people have entered the building industry due to lack of job prospects. Now the demand is back and prices are high again, more people will be needed in order to build more houses. Unemployment figures across the country are low so not many workers will be looking for jobs and to add to this problem, many European workers who filled lower paid roles have returned to their home countries due to the stronger Euro and concerns about Brexit. To get more workers, the roles offered will have to be more attractive which will push the cost of building the new houses up further.

Is there longevity in the building industry with the uncertainty of Brexit looming?

When demand for new houses disappeared and jobs were lost, the production of building materials slowed, and for some manufactures, ceased altogether. To build more houses we will need more materials – but the factories have not been waiting on standby for all of this time. To increase the supply of materials, manufactures will have to commit to more production, meaning costs of finding new premises and employing workers.

As specialist bridging loan brokers, many of our customers are business owners and property developers. They tell us that they are reluctant to commit to any new ventures that could be risky at the moment due to the uncertainty for the future, mainly caused by Brexit. Until the country faces a more stable future, many individuals responsible for making decisions needed in order for us to move forwards and build more houses will be remaining cautious and unlikely to spend huge sums of money opening factories or training new workers as they just do not know if it will be profitable, or indeed if it could actually prove very costly.

(Source: Key Loans and Mortgages Ltd)