“Today, whilst you might now get £473,800 for your 3-bed, the 5-bed house is now £828,000 meaning you only require £354,000 to upsize – a saving of £31,000.”
So what’s happened to property prices? There has certainly been a softening, with buyers being more reserved as the balance of control begins to swing to a buyers’ market rather than one in favour of the seller. Across Wokingham, Crowthorne and Bracknell asking prices are 8% lower than in May 2022, but still on average 22% higher than in December 2019. If you are looking to upsize then you can count your lucky stars as the correction in prices could leave you quids in.
If you sold your 3 bed last year for £515,000 and bought a 5 bed for £900,000 you would have needed an additional £385,000 to facilitate the move. Today, whilst you might only get £473,800 for your 3 bed, the 5 bed house is £828,00 meaning you only require £354,000 to upsize – a saving a of £31,000. There is also one vital ingredient which is preventing the wholesale reductions the doomsayers have predicted; the lack of available property. Stock levels remain stubbornly low which is a tonic, keeping prices from falling back too much.
Whilst prices have probably rolled back a year, the market remains resilient. Ebbs and flows, peaks and troughs – it’s normal for any market and in popular areas such as Wokingham, Crowthorne and Bracknell, I am confident that any softening of house prices will be muted in comparison to many areas of the UK. It’s markets like this, particularly if you are upsizing, that can see real gains for the savvy seller or buyer and with little indication of anything changing in the near term, if you want to move, then you can take advantage of stronger-than-average buyer demand whilst being in a less competitive environment than we would normally see at this time of year.