Nick Churton of Mayfair International Realty looks at a transitioning property
market in the wake of the incomparable past two years.

The thing with changing real estate markets is that eventually we all adapt to each
manifestation. Evolving markets are a bit like a pandemic. First they are a surprise, next,
sadly, some people are harmed by the new normal, and then we learn how to handle the
threat.

Frustratingly, just when we begin to get comfortable, something new happens in the world
and we have to adapt to a new market all over again. This is where we are now.

Property market watchers, looking for signs that the post pandemic real estate party is
over, have been on high alert for some time. But they don’t have to watch too closely as all
the signs are there for anyone to see. In many countries the days of putting a property on
the market at almost any price, and then exceeding that figure in a market awash with cash
buyers desperate to move, are over. We may never see their like again – or, at least, not
for decades. Today’s buyers are a new breed – they have to be. Steep cost of living rises,
changes in working practises, difficult travel conditions and an uncertain and often unstable
world have led to understandable caution.

So, with what sort of new market must we become familiar? There are some interesting
patterns emerging. It is becoming more of a buyers’ market. There will be a wider choice
for buyers, who will feel less pressured to make their final choices. Sellers will have to
become used to delay and uncertainty.

How often have we heard that a property’s three most essential things are location,
location, location? Well in this new market those things will become price, price, price. In a
market with greater choice attracting a buyer becomes more challenging. There are two
ways to overcome this: correct pricing and making your home as buyer-friendly as possible
– thermally efficient, clean, tidy, decluttered, sweet-smelling and great-looking from the
kerb.

Oh, and there is another way to succeed in selling: make sure an experienced estate agent
who understands how to adapt to changing times and markets is handling the sale – and
then listen to that agent.

Finally, sellers shouldn’t despair. The post-pandemic party may be essentially over, but for
sellers with a great real estate agent, good housekeeping and accurate pricing there is still
time for one for the road.