"The property market no doubt needs willing buyers and sellers at this point in time. But those buyers and sellers need confidence that they’re acting on accurate information."
According to Roland Whyte, Founder and CEO of Nokkel, this trend is dividing opinion – and creating angst – around whether the market will crash by 20 per cent in value, or enjoy a steady recovery.
But Rightmove’s observations around its latest data were most interesting, with its Director of Property Science saying, "many sellers are breaking with tradition and showing unseasonal initial pricing restraint.” He also observed that buyers are taking more time to "find the right property at the right price" and wanted "greater realism on price".
The fact that market participants – buyers and sellers – are showing “pricing restraint” and searching for “price realism” shows that the way the industry currently operates is not transparent enough for people to make decisions about buying and selling. In other words, they don’t feel on stable enough foundations, as there’s a degree of ambiguity around value.
The economic climate is changing so fast, that it can be difficult for buyers, sellers and owners to keep up, let alone feel remotely in control. People naturally want greater clarity and security in order to plan around their biggest financial asset.
With access to a wider selection of data sources, individual buyers and sellers, and estate agents, can act on more accurate information and plan investments, and the next steps in their financial journey, accordingly.
This increased confidence in decision-making will also likely see more activity in the market, fighting against persistent stagnation.
Looking at the overall picture, increased confidence in decision-making will in turn slow the current winds of unpredictability that have the market swaying. Strong foundations for buyers and sellers mean strong foundations for the market as a whole. Increased buying and selling could then result in predictions tipping towards the steady recovery that everyone wants.
The property market no doubt needs willing buyers and sellers at this point in time. But those buyers and sellers need confidence that they’re acting on accurate information. However, given the current backdrop, both the buyer and seller’s markets are in a state of flux. So, it’s not surprising that property prices have somewhat stagnated and predictions go both ways.
It’s challenging for anyone to predict the outcome of this rocky period, which is what makes Rightmove’s findings so interesting. What is clear, is that buyers and sellers are craving realism around price and value, and are in desperate need of information sources to help them do so.
