How Much Can I Get?

“In the Wiltshire area over the past two/three years, we have seen prices going up and down,  and this can offer a fantastic opportunity to trade up to that dream house. When people sell, there is much focus on ‘what will I get for my house?’ It is an important question, but if you are planning to trade up to a more expensive property, is that actually the right question?

“For instance, if you have a property ‘worth’ say £1,000,000 and prices have dropped by 10%, this is now ‘worth £900,000 but you wish to buy a property that had a value of £1,750,000, and this too has dropped 10%, so is now available at £1,575,000. The gap between the 2 properties is £675,000. Had the prices been more stable, the gap would have been £750,000, so the saving now is £100,000.

“Equally, if prices are rising, again using 10%, we see the values being £1,100,000 and £1,925,000 respectively, a gap now of £825,000.

“This example shows how using a ‘relatively harder market’ can be a great opportunity. Sometimes focusing on ‘how much can I get?’ is not the right question, when it should be, what is the difference I have to pay?”