In April, the average cost of a home reached a record of £286,079. However, with rising interest rates and outrageously fast increases to the cost of living, could house prices have peaked?
On Thursday last week, the Bank of England raised interest rates to 1% from 0.75% to try and fight off increasing inflation, the rate in which is forecast to surpass 10% this year – the highest level since 1982. With our daily lives becoming more and more expensive, this seemingly unstoppable house price growth month on month must come to an end eventually, so at the very least, we should expect a significant slowdown at some point, if not a decline.
Repositioning yourself for this is key as a salesperson in the new home construction industry – as selling homes will become increasingly more challenging, and for first time buyers, increasingly confusing; Will monthly mortgage payments increase? Will deposits need to be higher? Will house prices decrease? These questions are going to be at the forefront of the minds of a new home buyer, which in turn may encourage you to rethink your sales strategy. Here are some ways you might go about doing this.
Offer a wider range of financing options
With rising interest rates, the cost of borrowing will only increase. The word ‘mortgage’ may be enough to terrify first time buyers, so encouraging larger deposits is key. Offering a wide variety of mortgages can help those that may find saving the hardest and help find a solution that can work for them. ‘Green Mortgages’ are new options that offer buyers of energy-efficient homes more favourable terms, ideal for many new home sellers. Learn more about green mortgages here.
Implement educational content into your marketing strategy
Changing your marketing strategy in a way that will help buyers achieve their financial goals might prove to be mutually beneficial. Offer them tips and actions they can take to save more for that deposit. Not only are you helping them achieve their goals, but you are helping them achieve your goals too.
A great example of educational blog formats that help achieve this include ‘top 5s’. Short, punchy content resonates well with a younger audience, the first time buyer demographic.
Communicate the financial benefits of new-build homes over traditional homes
With the cost of living so high mainly thanks to the war in Ukraine, utility bills will be one of the major concern for prospective buyers. New homes have many benefits over traditional homes that help keep these costs low. Communicate these benefits as much as possible as part of your sales and marketing efforts. New homes offer increased energy efficiency benefits as they are built to much higher standard and need to adhere to modern regulations. On average, new build homes are far cheaper to run for this reason alone.
The best thing sales teams can do in times where buyers might be more hesitant than usual is to be as transparent as possible and be as efficient as possible in managing enquiries, so no questions are left unanswered. The sales process doesn’t need to feel like you’re juggling a hundred tennis balls. See how Housebuilder Pro helps sales teams here.
