Is now the right time to sell your home and move? | Mortgage Advice

The news so far is that some Estate Agents have indicated that the property market looks to be stabilising. The average value of a UK home has fallen by 17.7% during the last year from £194,953 to £160,327 according to the Halifax. This means that the average house has lost £30,000 in the last year. The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee has cut their interest rates from 5% in September 2008 to 0.50% last month. A typical Standard Variable Mortgage rate has dropped from 7% in September 2008 to 2.50% this month. Interest rates have never been this low!

It’s a buyers market!

You may be deciding to trade up or trade down the property ladder at the moment. But you need to consider that first house price are depressed at present, homeowners are struggling to sell their homes, estate agents are not selling many properties, the market is erratic to say the least, Mortgage Lenders just don’t have the stomach to lend money and the mortgage market is stagnant. It’s a daunting time to be selling a home or property but a great time to be a buyer –it’s a buyers market!

The market place is littered with private residential homes, repossessed properties and buy-to-let properties for sale. Properties are up for sale for a multitude of reasons from homeowners desperately trying to downsize to control costs to an influx of repossessed homes. The opportunity to bag a bargain has never been better and the bargaining power is firmly In the hands of the buyer.

If you have sold your home and have a 15% to 40% deposit to put down on a new property then you are in a wonderful negotiating position – the market is in your favour. It means that you can negotiate strongly for a remarkable deal as you can probably move fast with the purchase and the mortgage lenders will be more willing to lend to you money due to the size of your deposit.

If you’re a first-time buyer and have a deposit of around 10% and enough money to cover stamp duty, solicitors’ fees, search fees and other associated fees then you should be in a good position to bag a bargain in the current climate.

I was talking with clients of mine who had decided to sell their three bedroomed home and downsize. Their current home is on the market for £215,000 and they have a relatively small mortgage of £35,000. I asked what a smaller home would cost and they said around £175,000. They intended to keep their £35,000 mortgage and save the difference of £40,000 from the sale of their home and the new house purchase.

They told me that their home had been on the market for sale for the last eighteen months. They had seen a few potential buyers who were making very low offers. They asked for my advice and I said that unless they really need the money from the sale of the house they should take their home off the market as the housing market will bounce back in the next five to ten years and it would be better to sell a house in a buoyant market than a stagnant market.

Look for the best mortgage deal

If decide not to move then you should consider remortgaging your home to a better interest rate before interest rates start to rise again. The best mortgage deals around at present are available for anyone looking for a mortgage of less than 85%. (Mark Aucamp)

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