Hot or not: new online tool PropCast reveals if your London postcode is best for house buyers or sellers
Crossrail hotspot Abbey Wood in south-east London has been named the ‘hottest’ postcode in the capital for house sellers by a handy new online property tool.
Instead of focusing on wider areas like boroughs, counties and regions, PropCast pinpoints micro markets across England and Wales to give potential sellers a better sense of where they stand before they list their house.
Launched by professional property trader Gavin Brazg of home selling advice site The Advisory, the smart site instantly shows you whether your home is in a ‘hot’ sellers’ market or a ‘cold’ buyers’ market – all you have to do is type in your postcode.
PropCast ‘takes the temperature’ of a district by totting up the number of homes currently on the market in that postcode and calculating what percentage are under offer or sold subject to contract.
It then uses artistic license to turn that percentage into a degree, e.g. 30 per cent is 30 degrees.
There are four brackets – very cold (under 25 degrees), cold (25 to 34 degrees), hot (35 to 49 degrees) and very hot (over 50 degrees).
IS YOUR POSTCODE HOT OR NOT?
IN THE BLUE OR THE RED?
In a cold market, there are more homes for buyers to choose from, giving them greater bargaining power.
Sellers must compete for their attention using price, presentation and promotion tactics so as not to risk underselling, failing to sell or taking a long time to sell.
In a hot market, sellers have the upper hand. There are more buyers than homes for sale, meaning it is the buyers that must compete.
This can lead to properties generating multiple competing offers, so long as a wise strategy is chosen and executed by the owner and their estate agent.
PropCast’s simple methodology is the same as that used by property professionals, but Brazg, who founded seller advice site The Advisory 13 years ago, believes the information should be easily accessible for everyone.
The tool does have its flaws, notably that results for postcodes with only a few homes for sale will be unreliable.
You can, however, make your forecast more accurate by requesting a free analysis of your local market, noting your property's type (flat, terrace, detached etc) and number of bedrooms.
KEEP UPDATED
Every month, PropCast will be revealing the top ten hottest and coldest postcodes for sellers.
Top of July’s list is Sheffield’s S7 postcode – covering Abbeydale, Carter Knowle, Nether Edge and Millhouses, followed by M32 (Trafford in Manchester), BS5 (Bristol), BH17 (a rural area of Poole in Dorset) and B34 (Birmingham).
HOW DO LONDON POSTCODES FARE?
The top four coldest postcodes are all in London. WC2 – home to Leicester Square and Covent Garden – is the worst district for sellers, followed by NW8 (St John’s Wood), SW8 (South Lambeth, Vauxhall and part of Nine Elms) and EC2 (the City). The fifth coldest postcode is L2 in Liverpool.
It is not all doom and gloom in the capital.
The 'hottest' London postcode, Abbey Wood in Greenwich, is benefiting from the imminent arrival of Crossrail, which will offer residents an 11-minute commute to Canary Wharf.
Other London districts giving the thumbs up to sellers include Eltham, Thamesmead, Brockley, Walthamstow and Forest Hill.
KNOWLEDGE IS POWER
Brazg advises using PropCast for alternative insight, instead of relying solely on national house price reports.
He said: “The mistake most people make is thinking they already know whether they’re in a hot or cold market. However, national housing market reports can often be misleading, confusing and of limited practical value due to their focus on large areas, rather than looking at all the tiny markets within – all of which will be performing differently.”
Though sellers do not have the power to change their local market, understanding it gives them a chance to outsmart it.
“Selling in a cold market isn’t ideal, but it is very dangerous not to know you’re in one.”