House prices in Sunderland, and how to make your home sell faster
Selling your home is a big deal. On average we only do it every 15-20 years. When the time comes, it’s essential you do your own research to give yourself the best chance of getting the price you want in a timescale that suits you.
We spoke to Chris Hodgkinson, Managing Director of property buying specialist House Buyer Bureau to get his perspective on the Sunderland property market, and to offer some tips.
Chris says: “We’ve been buying property since 2010 and have seen our fair share of houses in Sunderland. Looking at the latest market data it looks like asking prices have reduced a little since 2023 and it is taking longer to sell. Data from home.co.uk shows, on average, it is taking almost 6 months to sell and 1 in 10 properties have been on the market for over a year.”
If you look at ‘sold’ house prices in 2024 and compare them to 2023 the picture feels bleak. According to market data specialists Property Data, sold prices in Sunderland are down 7%.
So, is it a good time to sell if you live in Sunderland?
Chris says the numbers can be misleading: “By any measure property prices have been rising for years, so it was inevitable that we’d reach a point where they levelled off or fell slightly. Housing has to be affordable. If it isn’t then prices will fall until they reach a point where buyers are willing to buy. When you look over a longer period, house values have increased significantly. Today, house values in Sunderland are 9% higher than 5 years ago and 60% higher than they were 20 years ago.”
So how can you make sure that your house is the one that sells first and fast?
Chris and his team have lots of helpful advice about the different ways to sell property, but here are his top 5 tips for anyone selling in Sunderland.
#pro tip 1: Ask the estate agent “what is the best price to generate the most interest in my property” and get them to give evidence to back up their answer. Don’t ask “how much is my house worth” as they’ll over-estimate its value to get you to choose them.
#pro tip 2: Set a realistic asking price from the start. Rightmove’s latest data shows it takes 32 days to find a buyer if you price your property correctly at the start, but 112 days if you must reduce the asking price because you set it too high. That is a lot of time wasted. The longer it takes to sell, the less you are likely to get for your property.
#pro tip 3: Be pro-active, don’t leave it all to your agent. If you’ve picked the best agent and priced right, you should get multiple viewings within the first 2 weeks. If that hasn’t happened, then don’t be scared to reduce the price and/or look at other agents.
#pro tip 4: Investigate alternative ways to sell – it won’t cost you anything other than a bit of your time. If you need to sell fast, then you could look into selling at auction or to a property buying company. Either route has a higher sales success rate than selling via an estate agent and will be far quicker and simpler. You’ll also avoid paying any estate agent fees. But the trade-off is you’ll get less money for your property.
#pro tip 5: Be prepared to negotiate, and don’t be greedy. Remember, your house is only worth what someone else is willing to pay for it, and there is more to consider than the amount of money being offered. If your buyer is a cash buyer, then they will be able to complete the sale quickly and are far less likely to pull out due to funding or property chain issues. But they will expect you to accept a lower price in return. If your buyer is stuck in a chain then you could be waiting months. When it comes to accepting an offer on your property you need to look at both the amount being offered and how “proceedable” the buyer is.
Find out more at https://www.housebuyerbureau.co.uk/sell-your-house-fast/