Where are we?

Over recent weeks I have written about how our team is adjusting and working to deliver for our clients but have intentionally refrained from commenting on how the market itself is responding.  Quite frankly I don’t think anybody really knew what would happen and I don’t see any value in making generic motherhood statements merely for the sake of trying to make everyone feel a bit better. But it’s been three weeks now, so it’s a good time to start to look at the impact of isolation. Where are we?

As much as I’d like to say nothing has changed I’m sure nobody will be surprised to hear that it has changed a lot. Practically, financially and emotionally the market has yielded to the impacts of isolation, but that’s not to say that there are still things happening.

It’s tough but it is still moving.  It’s just all moving a bit slower.  I’m not talking about our team, who are working as hard as ever, albeit differently. I mean the market itself is moving slowly. It is taking longer for vendors and buyers to consider their options and gain the confidence to lock in a decision.

Interestingly the number of enquiries we are getting has not dropped off as much as I anticipated given the economic lockdown.  We are still receiving good numbers of calls and emails from people interested in purchasing property which is very encouraging. The reality of record low interest rates remains a strong incentive and there are many hoping to capitalise on market uncertainty and use this as an opportunity to secure a ‘deal’.  That’s a good plan.

The challenge as always is to capitalise on those enquiries and translate them into a secure, good quality result for our vendors.  And that’s where the current environment makes it hard as we are finding potential purchasers are very sensitive and much more inclined to back away.  They’re keen, but equally anxious so negotiations are brittle. 

And never has it been more obvious that a key element in a purchase is that indefinable feeling a property elicits in a buyer when they walk in the front door.  Earlier this year our Sales Team were acknowledged as the best in the country and they have had to use all their skills to ensure potential buyers can still enticed by a property without necessarily stepping inside.

We have become experts at personalised video tours.  These are not packaged promotional videos but rather one-on-one live action walk throughs where our clients can hear if the door squeaks, can see the room that exists on each side of the bed, get a sense of the space in the pantry and make their own determination as to whether there is any noise from the road outside. 

I think now more than ever the trust between agent and client is crucial.  In the current environment big decisions feel even bigger and a bit scarier so our team are taking care and time to ensure potential buyers have the information they need to have confidence to proceed with a purchase.  

The upshot is the market is moving, slowly, but it is moving and we’re here to help our clients get the right result regardless of how long it takes.