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Traditionally the summer holiday months are quiet for house sales though this was far from the case with Stags this year. Agreed sales in August alone were up by 18.3% over the same time last year. Interestingly, viewings were down 6%, a statistic which suggests that viewers are of a better calibre and in a position to buy.
Why has this been the case? I am sure one of the reasons is that with over 110 people in Stags dealing with the sale of our properties we are continually talking to buyers from all over the UK. The number of people actively looking to buy in the West Country registered with us at present is currently over 12,000!
Continued revisions to stags.co.uk has seen a 25% increase in traffic, with around 170,000 visits in both July and August. Visitors are also staying longer and visiting more pages – excellent news for our clients and a tribute to our web team. We also have an all-time high of people following the Stags Facebook page and Twitter feed.
Despite the importance of the digital world, Stags has also taken the conscious decision to continue to promote our clients’ properties in the printed press, including local titles and the Western Morning News. This is not the case with many other firms who cut back on newspaper advertising in the summer period.
Many people have been asking me what the market has been like in recent months. There is certainly a significantly improved market for town, village and rural properties at the lower price levels (say under £500,000). However the upper end of the market, particularly those in more rural areas with land (say above £750,000) have met with slower market conditions than 12 months ago. It will be interesting to see what happens this autumn.
All of our staff are now poised and ready for the autumn market so if you are thinking of going to the market this year it is certainly not too late. Please contact your local Stags office if you would like free and professional advice on the sale of your property.
Simon Cooper, Partner of Stags.
