Solihull Property Market - Asking Prices Drop but Values rise

Those of you who regularly read my weekly articles in the Solihull Property Blog will know that I like to keep abreast of the Solihull property market. Something attracted my attention this week about the local property market, something I wanted to share with you.

 Over the last month asking prices in the town have dropped, yet property values have increased.  The average asking price of a Solihull property, according to Rightmove fell 0.1% this month yet the average value of a Solihull property rose by 0.3%.

So how does this relate in monetary terms?  The average asking price of a Solihull property is down slightly to £283,800 whilst the average value is now £332,000. You will note the average value is higher than the average asking price. This is because in Solihull there are more properties on the market for sale, at this moment in time, which are in the lower to middle market, than the middle to upper market, thus reducing the overall average asking price.

So why the difference? Technically an ‘asking price’ can be any price that a homeowner wants to place his or her property on the market for. In the summer months, the market is normally slightly quieter, so those left on the market wanting to sell often temper their asking prices in these months to try and generate interest in their property.

On the other side of the coin, the property ‘value’ is the price that a willing buyer is prepared to pay and a willing seller is prepared to sell at.   Therefore in a nutshell, Solihull property values are continuing to rise and those homeowners in Solihull who have properties on the market last month on average, reduced their asking prices ... great news for buyers!

In previous articles, I have written about the continued fundamental shortage of property coming on to the market compared to buyer demand. That is especially true for homeowners wanting to upgrade to a better house/location.  I can appreciate Solihull home owners are reluctant to put their own property on the market speculatively and wait for the right property to become available this can mean that some high demand locations could suffer from a property stalemate.

‘Most homeowners don’t want to sell and have nothing to buy.’

But that’s the beauty of the much maligned English and Welsh house buying process; vendors can find a purchaser for their property, then ask them to wait. By agreeing a sale (subject to contract) before you try to buy sounds concerning to many, but with fewer properties for sale you need to find a buyer for your property or it is likely you will not be deemed in a ‘proceed-able’ position and may be treated as a less serious buyer yourself. As long as your buyer is aware, if you cannot find the right home for you, you can delay the deal with your purchaser until it you can find the right property for you, or you could rent for short term. If nothing suitable comes along and you lose your buyer then the worst outcome is that you have to find another purchaser or take your property off the market and stay put for the time being; as long as you mention this at the start they should not have committed to any costs until you have agreed your onward purchase.

However, for the landlord/buy to let investors, these potential problems are nothing further from the truth. As I write this article, there are 270 flats for sale, over 62 terraced houses and over 200 semis for sale in Solihull.  Landlord/buy to let investors can usually pick up some bargains in the autumn months, as sellers who are selling their homes often have a pressing need to sell by this time of the year.

The types of houses a Solihull landlord typically buys, are not the same types as the homeowners are wanting to move to; possibly a more up market area of the town as they are attracted by larger semis and detached properties. The best types of properties for buy to let are the smaller flats, terraced and semis (not the big detached ones). There are in fact too many of these smaller properties for sale … just look at the numbers of properties for sale (mentioned in the previous paragraph).

If you are a landlord or thinking of become one for the first time, and you want to read more articles like this about the Solihull Property Market together with regular postings on what I consider the best buy to let deals in Solihull, out of the hundreds of properties on the market, irrespective of which agent is selling it, then you might like to pop into our Solihull property lounge for a drink and a chat.