Tips to help you sell your home this Autumn

Tips to help you sell your home this Autumn


In this month's edition, we offer our top tips to help you sell your home this Autumn.

We also look at the latest surge in property supply through the UK, answer how much EPC ratings can have an effect on the value of your home and examine what UK tenants are looking for in a rental property. 


Tips to help you sell your home this Autumn

 
It didn’t take long for Autumn to take hold, did it? It seems like only a few weeks ago, we were enjoying the blazing sunshine and moaning about the heat, but with October in full swing, it’s time to stir the heating into life and get those jumpers out of hibernation.

Autumn can be a great time to sell your home; the colours and relatively early sunsets can certainly help to offset your property, but there are several things that you can do to help show your home in the best light when you’re trying to find a buyer. Here are our top tips:

Have a tidy, inside and out
It might seem obvious, but de-cluttering and tidying your property before you start viewings, both inside and out can have a huge effect. Remember, you’re trying to show your home off, and attempting to get visitors to envisage themselves living there; making sure the entrance to your home, your living area and any garden space that you might have looks organised and tidy can have a huge effect on that. That means toys, shoes, papers and the like need to be put away.

Bulky items that take up space need to be temporarily removed, too. Remember, buyers want to see how they would fit in your home, and a lack of available space can make that difficult whilst simultaneously making the property seem smaller than it is.

Consider when you conduct viewings
It might not always be possible due to your schedule, but when possible, try and organise viewings during the day. With the sun going down earlier and earlier as the year draws to a close, it’s important to take advantage of natural daylight so that your property looks brighter and cleaner. Even if you are busy working during the day, it’s possible to organise a viewing agent who can show your property off for you.

Air your home
With no sunshine in the day to dry your clothes during the day, many of us dry our wet washing indoors at this time of year, meaning more moisture gets into the air around your home. Make sure to open your windows to alleviate this, and get some fresh air around your home.

Don’t be afraid to turn the heating on
You may be hesitant to turn on the heating before the real cold sets in, but making your property nice and warm before each viewing can be a great advantage when trying to get people interested in your home. It’s always nice to return to a warm house, and small touches like that, aswell as lighting a scented candle can help to make people feel relaxed.



New surge in property supply through the United Kingdom

 
Property is always in high demand and consistently outpaces supply, this has been especially true of the past two years with market activity taking a fall due to reluctant homeowners.

While the summer may not have been as lively as some had hoped, new research that looked into activity during September has shown substantial growth in sellers coming to the market.

The property supply index from House Simple looked into the number of new properties being listed by estate agents in 100 major UK towns and cities.

The latest index showed that across the UK, not only did the number of new properties listed for sale rise by 18.1% in the month of September, but when compared to the same month in 2017 it was up by 6.2%.

These figures are a welcome sign and it appears that now the summer holidays are out of the way, many homeowners seem to have turned their focus to finding a new home.

When taking a closer look at some of the figures, it was found that London saw the largest rise in new sellers with an increase in 45.5% during the month of September, reaching a 3-year peak.

Other areas throughout the country that saw considerable rises were Cambridge (36.2%), Salisbury (34.1%), Salford (33.8%), Winchester (32.5%) and Poole (31.7%) all recording growth of over 30% within the month and suggesting that market activity is greater towards the South.

There were some areas that saw a fall in supply such as Lichfield, where supply fell by 37.1% along with Lancaster and Loughborough, where supply dropped by 31.6% and 29.1% respectively.

Some experts would suggest that this sudden surge in supply indicates that homeowners are looking to wrap up a property transaction before Brexit hits, however, CEO of the company that conducted this research – Sam Mitchell – believes this isn’t the case.

“It’s not so much a case of beating the Brexit rush for the door, but more life has to go on. People will always need to move whatever is happening in the housing market and the wider economy. And there seems to be more of an acceptance now amongst sellers that they need to price more realistically to attract a buyer. This sensible and measured view is helping to push through more sales which wasn’t the case before the summer," said Mitchell.



How much do EPC ratings improve the value of a home?

 
Improving the energy efficiency of your home has always been a good way to save a few pounds here on there on your bills, but new data has revealed how much of an impact it can have on the home’s value.

In a new study from Money Supermarket, it was found that improving your energy efficiency rating could be a real bonus for if you choose to put your home on the market.

According to the findings of the study, a property’s price can be boosted by as much as 14%, depending on the EPC Rating.

A correlation was found between the homes with higher ratings when it came to property values and the analysis showed that any rating up from a G will have a positive impact.

Even when comparing homes with a rating of F to a rating of G, there was an average 6% increase in value.

As expected, this continues the further up the EPC ladder you climb. Homes with a rating of E were 7% higher, homes with a rating of D were 8% higher and homes with a rating of C were 10% higher.

Properties that managed to reach the energy efficiency peak, scoring ratings of A’s and B’s were found to value at 14% more than a G rating. This means that a home valued at &250,000 could see a price rise of &35,000 if the right energy efficiency upgrades were completed.

Analysing data of homes throughout the country, not only did Money Supermarket look into the effect of a good EPC rating, but they also looked into regional differences in property values.

When the EPC is improved from a D to an A/B, it was the region of the North East that saw the largest rise in terms of percentage at 12.2%, however, when looking at the largest monetary gain, the South West took 1st place as prices improve by 7.7% and mean a gain in value of &19,576 on average.

Money Supermarket also provided a few tips on how to improve your own EPC rating such as installing insulation, adding lagging jackets to your pipes, upgrading your boiler and using energy efficient bulbs.

While some of these fixes could be costly, they certainly seem like they’re worth the effort long-term.



What are UK tenants looking for in a rental property?

 
As renting becomes more and more common in today’s market, tenants will undoubtedly become more and more selective if they’re planning on renting long-term.

We all have our own idea of what features would be included in our perfect home, but which perks and features top the list for tenants today?

Go Compare has conducted a survey with the aim of finding this out and has questioned renters of all ages up and down the country to discover what’s most important to them.

According to their findings, and what may come as a surprise to some landlords, is that a huge 60.29% of survey participants would prefer a property that is unfurnished, allowing them to put their own stamp on the home.

Another priority for tenants of today is the number of bedrooms, the more the better of course, but almost half (49.95%) of respondents stated that a good number of bedrooms is of high importance to them.

Taking 3rd place by a small margin was the 23.16% that chose ‘Distance To Schools’ as a priority, which comes as no surprise as making the notoriously hectic school run easier is always a bonus.

Some of the other features that were somewhat predictable included the 22.72% of participants that wanted a parking space, the 22.64% that wanted a garden/roof terrace and the 17% that place an area’s aesthetics near the top of their priority list.

There were some less predictable features that also made the list such as the 18.28% that wanted a gym/pool in the same building as their apartment, the 16.21% that desired a cleaning service included in their rental agreement and there was also 6.54% that noted a concierge as a priority.

Overall, there is a lot to take from these findings if you’re an investor or a developer as there are clear signs of demand for rental properties of high quality that tenants can settle down in for the long-term.

Unfurnished

60.29%

Number Of Bedrooms

49.95%

Distance To Schools

23.16%

Parking Space

22.72%

Garden/Roof Terrace

22.64%

Gym/Pool

18.28%

Quality Aesthetic Of Area

17%

Close To Work University

16.88%

Cleaning Service

16.21%

En Suite

15.78%

Furnished

12.78%

Both Either Furnished

11%

Concierge Serviced Accommodation

6.54%