Snow joke! Agents, it’s time to get ready for Xmas

by Steph Rady

Snow joke! Agents, it’s time to get ready for Xmas

With summer packing its bags, the nights drawing in and the kids reluctantly returning to school, it’s time to set our sights on Christmas.

Oh, yes, it is!

The stores have already started, many of them are already promoting their Christmas offerings in the hope of an early festive rush.

But for agents this period generally signals the beginning of the end of the summer surge as the market, like the weather, starts to cool before winter’s chill sets in.

But this year, industry watchers are predicting something different.

The Base rate cut in August triggered an easing of mortgage rates, wage rises continue to outpace inflation and the country appears to be entering a period of political stability – all of which point to a busier Q4 than normal. And if, as predicted, there is another Base Rate cut before Christmas, the market should show continued signs of buoyancy long into the closing months of 2024.

The latest Rightmove House Price Index recorded a 19% annual rise in the number of potential buyers contacting agents about homes for sale, up from 11% in July.

The number of sales agreed is now 16% ahead of the near-peak-mortgage-rate period of a year ago, Rightmove said, while the number of new sellers coming to market is 5% ahead of last year as confidence to move grows.

Interest is building

And that confidence will only increase for both sellers and buyers as prices are predicted to ease up slightly while the barriers to affordability gradually come down.

Mortgage rates have dipped below 4% from some lenders – a marker that many would-be buyers will have been looking out for – while more potential sellers who have been sitting on their hands for the last year or two, might be tempted to consider listing. (And more sellers means more buyers!)

 Our latest data from The ValPal Network shows that members have generated more than 1m leads so far this year – passing the milestone a month earlier than normal – which clearly demonstrates that the demand is there and interest is building.

In the last three months, our members have sold more than £62m worth of properties and there are no signs that this will slow down over the course of Q4.

In fact, now that the holiday season is coming to an end, we may well see the market enter September with renewed vigour which will continue into a Happy New Year.

Agents who don’t want to miss out should be going full throttle to fill their pipelines with leads now. There will be business to be won – which is where MovePal comes into its own, enabling you to work smarter and not harder.

Have a merry Christmas!  

If you would like to boost your marketing or lead generation, get in touch with our team to find out how we can help!

Click Here To Contact Us!

Or call us on 0208 663 4930.

Contact Us - The ValPal Network

The ValPal Network