Be buyer ready

Don’t let your dream Cornish property slip through your fingers. Be buyer ready with our top tips!

With a very strong start to the property market in Cornwall for 2022, it’s now more important than ever to become a ‘power buyer’: but what does that actually mean? 

According to Rightmove’s latest House Price Index the number of buyers enquiring about homes at the start of 2022 was 15% higher than the same time last year. The number of available homes for sale per estate agency branch also dropped again to a new record low of just 12. As a result, competition among buyers is almost double what it was at the same time last year.

However, buyers shouldn’t despair as the report goes on to say that, encouragingly, the number of requests to estate agents to value a property was up by 44% in the first working week of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021, making it the busiest ever opening to a year for home valuation requests. Here at Philip Martin, we are seeing just that, and Cornwall as a whole appears to be bucking the trend in that there are properties coming to the market on a regular basis as sellers take advantage of this buoyancy.

If we could advise just three things that could help you achieve buying success in a seller’s market, they would be:

• Be prepared

If you have a property to sell, then you need to get it on the market as soon as possible and, at the very least, be under offer and on the way to exchange before offering on another property. Sellers are more likely to choose buyer’s whose sale is agreed and are ready to proceed – the smaller the chain the better. First time buyers will need to have a mortgage agreed in principle and proof of funds for a deposit.

• Move swiftly

You may have to sell your existing property before you buy and be prepared to move into rental accommodation or share with family or friends. Whilst not ideal, this could make the journey to your dream home a quick one. Make decisions swiftly and convince the agent that you are serious about your offer – he who hesitates will be lost!

• Cash is king

A true power buyer is one who is ready to move with no mortgage required – a cash buyer. It’s essential that you make the estate agent aware of this at the earliest opportunity as it will put you in a very strong position and is hugely attractive to sellers.

For advice on either buying or selling your home contact one of our experienced agents today.