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Agents ‘hide how long it takes to sell homes’ claims quick-buy firm

A quick-buy firm that buys homes at around 85 per cent of market value claims the industry is concealing how slow it really is to sell a home under the current system.

And it says the situation is worse since Brexit uncertainty hit the market.

National Property Trade claims inquiries to its service have risen by 305 per cent since the EU Referendum back in June 2016.

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Enquiries apparently almost doubled in 2018 “against the Brexit backdrop of economic and political uncertainty” says the firm. 

But a statement from the firm concentrates on an attack on the current house sales system and the transparency of the industry.

It says: “Wider industry research suggests the average property sale in the UK takes over five months to complete from the point of listing on the market. This includes around 11 weeks to complete the conveyancing process alone, whilst complex selling chains, unpredictable legal issues and lengthy delays result in approximately 25 per cent of agreed sales failing to complete, often incurring legal costs for the seller.”

Chief executive Cormac Henderson, adds: “The antiquated English house sale system means that sellers have no guarantee that an agreed sale will take place until the point of legal exchange. From the point of listing with an estate agent, this process can easily take seven months. Our experience suggests the picture is worse than the industry presents.”

The firm says it hopes to increase its average payment of 85 per cent of market value as the quick-buy sector grows. 

Henderson says quick-buy “was once perceived as a last resort, but homeowners are now recognising that it provides a financially sound and risk-free alternative to selling property. Transaction prices are competing with the open market and as the industry matures, these values are likely to rise.”

National Property Trade, which was founded in 2007, says a third of its current enquiries are from those who need to sell quickly in order to buy a preferred home, with the second most popular reason being to relocate.

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    • D G
    • 26 March 2019 10:34 AM

    If we listed a £300k house at £255k, I'm sure we'd have a queue round the block

  • Kristjan Byfield

    15% in London equates to nearly £100k discount on an average property- I would expect a quick sale for that 'cost' but to make an extra £90k (£100k less agents fee) I'd be willing to wait a few weeks. Most agents are very upfront about timescales.

  • Michael Day

    How can transaction prices compete with the open market when they buy at circa 15% of open market value? Comment misleading at best.

    There is however a market for certainty and a transparent below market value option will suit some but not all. Nested’s proposition apoears clever in that it attracts well motivated sellers whilst providing the “backstop” of a purchase if needed - which it often isn’t.

  • eddie walsh

    According to research by Caveathomebuyer a house in Nottingham NG10 was sold at auction over 2 years ago for £165,000. The buyer did it up and put it on via a prominent local agent @ £250,000. It did not sell. Eventually it was reduced by 15k but still did not sell. Now there is a new agent and it is reduced again to £225,000. Still overpriced though. It needs reducing perhaps to £212,500 which would be a 15 per cent reduction which proves that 85 per cent of the original quarter of a million would have been a better option for the seller.

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