In the last few weeks the second phase of the Help to Buy scheme has been launched, three months ahead of schedule and taking even Lenders by surprise. For those still not sure what this scheme entails, it is a Government guarantee to the lender of up to 15% of a property purchase, allowing a buyer, as long as they meet the lending criteria, to raise a 95% mortgage. It is available for purchases up to £600,000 and restricted to owner occupiers.
This scheme is controversial, mainly because it is a manufactured crutch to a property market that is no longer limping.  . We are just coming out of the worst sustained period of activity in generations, and are witnessing a gentle and manageable market-led recovery, but purely for the sake of political timing during conference season, so the argument goes, the coalition has decided to provide direct assistance to encourage buyers even further. The worry for many is that in delivering this stimulus the Government has crossed the Rubicon from assistive enablers to direct meddlers in what is an unforgiving market.
The general cry is that control needs to be established by Government, the Bank of England and through Lenders’ self-regulation in order for demand not to get too carried away. Likely? We can only wait and see, but judging by recent brush-offs the coalition isn’t particularly worried about countering the monster that some fear it might have created .
The initial equity based assistance has proved to be a great stimulus across the UK at the lower end of the market, but whether Help to Buy will impact on our local market remains to be seen and it will be difficult to separate the impact of this initiative from a general improvement in market conditions unless, of course, it becomes evident from property professionals that there has been a huge uptake.
The main point to be made is that a healthy property market is one of sustained activity rather than surging prices and as long as there is a decent supply of available stock this should prevail over the sort of inflation that we saw in the pre-crunch days.
Whatever happens, Help to Buy is here for the next few years and at least it is a positive move, which after recent times is a welcome gesture.

Now that the holidays are over and our children are being dragged back to school, it is the natural time for people to think again of moving house, with Christmas as the end goal. For this reason we’ve seen increased demand for rural family houses.

Late Summer/early Autumn is a traditional time of year for property transactions to pick up and due to a busy few months of sales, supply is now fairly thin on the ground. We have maintained a steady register of keen buyers, however, and there will be more getting in touch over the coming weeks.

So what are these buyers looking for? The most keenly sought after type of property is the 4 or 5 bedroom family house, situated in a rural or village environment. If, for instance a property of this ilk became available in the general area between Salisbury and Shaftesbury, we know that it would generate huge interest and possibly competitive bidding. We know because we are speaking daily to frustrated buyers and this is indicative of the strength of the middle market in South Wilts/North Dorset.

Both London and the Home Counties are producing the majority of incomers, escaping small gardens in the Capital and increasing traffic elsewhere. Good schools, beautiful countryside and a fantastic quality of life is the draw, not to mention the significant differential in property values.

There are also those who need to upsize locally; whose children have outgrown smaller cottages and now need the space, both inside and out, to spread. Improved communications and hence income have meant that these buyers are not necessarily priced out of the market, but budgets may be under more pressure and they are generally more reliant on borrowing.

The one thing that is certain is that there will not be a meaningful increase in the number of larger new build homes around here and in any case, most buyers are after individual properties at this level, putting a further emphasis on supply.

So if you are considering selling a family sized house you will need to have good advice from an Agent who really deals in this market, and if you are hoping to buy one, you will need to be prepared for battle.

While there is no particular pattern in the Wiltshire housing market at the moment we are happily seeing signs of more confidence from buyers and activity is on the up. One is always hesitant to herald the recovery, and it is likely that this is the end of the beginning, rather than the beginning of the end, but at last we may be witnessing some green shoots.

The first four months of 2013 were pretty dire in terms of rural housing stock and activity, but as soon as the weather warmed, so did the market. Anyone who keeps an eye on the property portals will see the increase in sales agreed and this is an exciting indication that lenders are lending, buyers are buying and prices are holding their own.

How should buyers view the market now and where should they be pitching offers?

The first thing to say is that prices are not rocketing away and are not likely to for the foreseeable future. But the market is firming, which means that vendors need not take as much of a hit on their sales as they have had to. To give an indication, the average offer that we have agreed on all sales since the beginning of June is only 1.8 % below guide price, while this time last year it was more like 5%.
As long as a property is pitched in line with its comparables, it is likely to sell reasonably well and buyers need to understand that we are now entering a more equitable market where deals are being struck at sensible levels.

You could almost say that the end of the buyers’ market is nigh. It certainly is for family houses in good locations, where the excellent schools in this area are attracting more and more families from London and the Home Counties, all vying for elusive property.

If you are a buyer, therefore, perhaps you should remember these points:

Do your property homework – you should know what sort of property you can buy for your money and be able to put a broad value on what you see.
Be decisive – if a house ticks 7 boxes out of 10, you should be thinking seriously about it.
Be realistic – don’t expect to buy too far below the guide price.
Be confident – that you are buying at the bottom of the market.

Many times over the years we have shown properties where potential buyers have been deterred because there is no room for particular items of furniture.

If you have inherited any furniture or furnishings, then you will know what I am talking about; possession, pride, love, guilt and duty all unite to form a resolute determination to hang on to Granny’s bookcase at all costs, even if you don’t particularly like it.
Last month a client related the story of her maiden Great Aunt who, nearing her end, invited family into her house to divide among them the furnishings that she would be leaving behind. Following a few hours of tactful diplomacy and the odd envious glance at each others’ choices the great nieces and nephews came away with car boots stuffed to the gills. My client recently visited such a cousin who had the walls of his not-so-large sitting room stacked with Georgian secretaries, tallboys and chests. They didn’t fit with the style of his 1980’s suburban house, they were splitting because of the pumped up central heating and you could barely move for the bank of brown furniture. When she asked him why he had taken so many pieces, his response was that nobody else had room for them.
A couple of years ago a viewer of a decent sized farmhouse in Dorset seemed to love all about it, but hesitated as we chatted on the drive after the viewing. He was concerned, it seemed, that the landing and stairwell walls wouldn’t take his collection of six foot canvasses, mostly oil portraits that had been passed down to him and his siblings. He didn’t buy it in the end and as far as I know he is still looking.

We also sold a house recently where a substantial oak dresser took pride of place in a relatively small dining room. Inherited from three generations down, the piece, although lovely, took up half the room, meaning that one side of the dining table could hardly be sat at. The owners had been meaning to sell it on but couldn’t bring themselves to do it and this made me wonder whether prior generations had felt the same.

It can be a foreboding step to part with inherited furniture that stirs sentimental memories. It is so important, however, to create space when selling on a house and large pieces of furniture in small rooms simply don’t help. By the same token, house buying, whether downsizing or changing style, should be an adaptable experience and if the house is almost perfect, but for the lack of space for that inherited linen press, then you just have to weigh up what is most important to your lifestyle. After all, it’s you who has to live it.

Beyond the baked bread, fresh coffee and gentle Mozart drifting in the background, there is a myriad of emotional, practical and sensitive issues that need to be tackled if you are to sell your house successfully. And here are just some of them:

Take advice from your estate agent

The best Agents are there to help, acting in the best interests of their clients rather than concentrating on their balance sheets, and you should accept the advice that they give you. Any business is as good as its reputation and referrals would soon dry up if an Agent kept getting it wrong, so trust what you are told and be prepared to act upon it.

Iron out property problems early on

You should know your property well enough to know where any problems lie, so share these with your Agent before you begin marketing, after all, everybody suffers if a last minute glitch emerges causing the collapse of a deal.  Areas to mention include restrictive covenants, rights of way, structural issues, boundary disputes and building regulations. Early knowledge and the chance to put things right will save heartache later on.

Step back emotionally

This is often easier said than done, especially if your home has years of happy memories, or you take great pride in what you have created there. Wherever your emotions lie, you have to detach yourself and treat the sale as that of a commodity. One man’s meat is another man’s gravy and a buyer may look at your property from a completely different perspective. I’ve often heard clients say that they want to sell their house to a family they like. Sadly, we don’t have that luxury anymore, so as long as the buyer can complete a purchase at an acceptable level, then that is the person to sell to.

Let the Agent do the Viewings

Agents are very good at showing people around houses because they are salespeople . Not in the sense of the hard sell, but more in knowing which buttons to press and when. Viewers also need to relax and take their time and it is very difficult to do so if the owner is there and the feeling is one of intrusion, so take the dog for a walk or pop to the shops. Try also to always insist that the negotiator dealing with your house is the one to show it, rather than viewing staff. They know it best and can talk turkey if it comes down to on-the-spot negotiations.

Accept market conditions

The property boom is over and we are in a fragile market. If you want to sell your house and move on you have to accept the economic conditions and position the marketing of your property accordingly. Buyers are buying and will continue to buy, but they are reluctant to pay what they consider to be over the odds. Take your Agent’s advice, find the right buyer at the right price for the prevailing conditions and move on. You will be able to negotiate just as hard on a purchase, and if you rent and wait for the right house to come up, you could be quids in.