How to Find Your Next Home When the Market is Slow

The property market is volatile. One month you’re looking at an abundance of buyers and plenty of available properties to fulfil their needs, and the following *crickets chirping*. 

So what can you do if you need to move ASAP and the market is unusually slow? Here are some tips from Paul Stripp Estate Agency.  

Review Your Circumstances

If the market is particularly stagnant, it may be worth sitting down and reviewing whether you really need to move right now. Could you wait for the market to pick up again? If not, could you rent in the short term? While this situation may not be ideal, it could provide you with a buffer, ultimately helping you to purchase the property you want and not just a property you’re left with. 

Keep Your Estate Agent Informed

If you need to move urgently, make sure your estate agent knows this! We’re here to help you, and if that means speeding things up or hunting down a property to complete your chain, we’ll do so. Whatever your circumstances are, try to keep your estate agent informed. 

Filter Your Search Results

Simply refreshing the first page of Rightmove isn’t enough to guarantee that you’re seeing all of the properties out there. Instead, make full use of the filter functions and tailor your searches to ensure that you only see properties that meet your needs. 

Check Portals Daily

New properties are often snapped up quickly in a slow market, so you need to keep an eye on the latest listings. While we don’t expect you to sit at your laptop all day, a daily check will help ensure that you’re one of the first to know when a new property comes up for sale. Remember, here at Paul Stripp Estate Agency; we also offer off-market matching, so be sure to sign up to our email notifications list to be the first to know about new properties before they hit the market. 

Post in Community Groups

If you have your heart set on a specific area, then it doesn’t hurt to post a message to one of the local community groups. You never know, someone may be thinking of selling soon, and your message could be the motivator they need to put their house on the market. 

Build a Relationship with Local Agents (Like us at Paul Stripp Estate Agency)

Lastly, when things are tough, it helps to build a rapport with a couple of local estate agents. Let them know what you’re looking for and the budget you have, and they can then keep you in the back of their mind. 

Now is the time to think out of the box, so don’t give up hope if the market is proving challenging. If you’d like to find out more about the services we offer at Paul Stripp Estate Agency, Battle, or would simply like to chat about whether now is a good time to buy, please get in touch.