Why now is a great time to sell in Leeds

by on 17th July 2017

With the General Election dust now settling, we are witnessing an uplift in the property market at Hogan’s in Leeds and across West Yorkshire,.

A previous article covered the political ramifications of the ballot box but in this blog post, we thought we’d hold a property magnifying glass up to our area and answer why now is a good time to sell.

Traditionally, July and August  is a quieter time in estate agency but we’ve noticed a surge in selling and buying activity.

Our properties for sale are being snapped up fast and at close to asking price – we achieve 98% of the price, which means when we give your West Yorkshire property a valuation, it’s accurate.

Unlike many of the online agents, you don’t pay a penny upfront which means we work harder to sell your property for as high a price as possible and see offers through to exchange and completion.

So why is now such a good time to sell?

Here’s five reasons:

1. Property remains in short supply. A national statistic that was floated around some time ago is that there are 11 buyers, on average across the UK, chasing each property for sale. Obviously there are regional variations, but we would say Leeds is buoyant.
2. Properties are selling quickly. Across our two offices, and three operations (Hogan’s, Hogan’s Fast Sale and Hogan’s Online Plus) we have very few of what Zoopla terms “slow movers”. We’ve recently sold two properties in Halton and Tingley that generated great interest, one selling within 24 hours and the other in seven days – see our Facebook page for details.
3. University. Leeds University is expanding and with it is growing demand for properties as part of landlord investment portfolios. With students up and down waiting eagerly for A level results and with it places at university, this has a knock-on effect in cities like ours, for both properties for sale and to let.
4. The season. With mercury rising, longer days and the garden being ventured into, people often look at upsizing or downsizing in summer. With the average house sale taking 68 days from market appraisal to completion, many of our property sellers know that capital can be released for early autumn – even though we are considerably faster than that 68 day average.
5. Interest rates. These remain at historic lows, meaning the cost of borrowing for mortgages is much more affordable. What we’re finding too, in conversations with home sellers and home buyers, is that many are paying off capital on mortgages over a shorter period than 25 or 30 years leaving a bigger pot of equity to move on with. With this going towards a deposit and move, the housing market across West Yorkshire is performing well.

If you’d like a professional, no-obligation valuation of your property in and around Leeds, Wakefield, Castleford, Huddersfield or Bradford (yes we do cover the whole of West Yorkshire), please contact us  today.