Summer Launches- a thing of the past?
Traditionally there has been a lot of seasonality within the property market, particularly at the top end. Houses were launched in May/June with an advertisement in Country Life (not always in Island Life!) and back up local advertising. If they failed to sell then there was a second flurry of activity in September often with adjusted prices. Thickness of Country Life back copies vary greatly with the time of year, some issues being veritable tomes whereas those in January and August are more akin to parish newsletters. Old copies of the County Press show a similar seasonal variation.
This no longer seems to be the case. Activity within the property market still varies greatly month to month but the traditional seasonal pattern seems to have all but disappeared. A lot of this seems to be to do with the speed of modern communications. Furthermore people are keen to buck any trend and if they perceive that launching their property a few weeks early may 'steal a march' on the competition then that is what they will do - stretching out season. It is not that long ago that if a glossy brochure was being created then the proofing process was by post with cumbersome mock-ups taking days or weeks to turn around. Now you can expect a proof back by email within hour. Clients often have such good quality photographs of their properties from their own digital cameras that launches need not be delayed by waiting for the leaves to appear on the trees or the wisteria to bloom.
The biggest change to the seasonality of the market is however the internet. It is such a different 'beast' from traditional print advertising, accessible day and night, in Hulverstone or in Honolulu and to anyone with a pc, a Mac or a modern mobile phone. Its reach is mind-boggling; it has neither editions nor special features. It is a stream of information accessed by potential buyers entirely on their terms allowing them to look at what properties they like, when they like. The effect of this is to take the formality out of the market and to liberate it from traditional constraints. It means that the reasons for 'launching in May' have dwindled not least because sellers do not understand why they should wait - once they have decided to sell, they want to sell.
This is however a two-edged sword. To extent the traditional selling seasons put a natural brake on the property market slowing both booms and crashes. People realised less what was happening in the market if they had to wait weeks to see if a property had sold or not and whether its price had reduced. Market evidence was scarce and information on true prices often jealously guarded by professionals 'in the know'. For some years now it has been possible, on free websites, for anyone to look up a neighbour's sale price. The Land Registry produce graphs for each area showing the numbers and average prices of houses sold. This is much more like the stock market; with so much up to date information available, houses are treated more as commodities. Whilst the properties will probably never be as volatile as ‘pork bellies’ or oil the market definitely reacts with more immediacy and much less seasonality than once was the case. This has both benefits and drawbacks for buyers and sellers alike.
Sam Biles MRICS, FAAV is managing Director of leading Country and Coastal Property Specialists: Creasey Biles and King T: 01983 282222 E:sam@creasey-biles-king.co.uk
