Week 14 - DM & Co. Homes - The Solihull Property Market

Hello and welcome to my weekly roundup. A milestone week for DM & Co. and one that has seen the highest value of exchanges in the companies 8 year history - helped by a couple of stunning properties, one at £4m and the other at £2m - they all count and I’d like to thank the team and all of our clients that have made this happen!

The issues with the market are entirely stock related, and that has been echoed in team meetings this week. You can’t sell them if you haven’t got them and we are starting to see and hear of agents doing one of two things - wildly over valuing or seriously undercutting fees - two tactics that are dangerous, one kills the sale of your property, the other your business.

Never has it been truer - you do get what you pay for and no two agencies are ever the same, please do not be disillusioned - put the sale of your property in the hands of a tried, tested and trusted business. In this market the ‘selling’ is the easy part, the real hard work goes into getting that sale over the line - I’m really pleased to report that our average completion time at DM & Co. is down to 77 days from date of agreed sale - thank you to Lynne, Julie and David in the sales progression team, without them this would not be possible - the national average is over 110 days!

In a hot market, just because somebody is prepared to pay ‘££k’ over the asking price doesn’t mean that the surveyor will agree! It is important to set expectation and be realistic when marketing your property. Down valuations are taking place, lenders have a responsibility and by down-valuing properties they are cooling the market and trying to keep a lid on it. The old saying of “It’s worth what somebody is prepared to pay for it!” is only true when you’re using your own money - most purchasers utilise a mortgage and therefore somebody has to make sure that that money it is not being put at further risk by the stress that lack of supply has on the market.

With over 130 properties currently sold (subject to contract) - we have our feet very close to the frontline. It enables us to see, hear and feel the movements in the market and it still remains an excellent time to sell your home.

If you are waiting to find a property before you have yours on the market then you are already 1-nil down - my advice, as it has been for the last 12 months is to get yourself in the best position possible and that starts by being on the market. If you’re reading this and have been a little hesitant to date, take a leap of faith and commit to marketing.

If you’d like to discuss the market or the best strategy for achieving the best price for your property in this market please do get in touch - I’m available via email or you can fire me a WhatsApp if that’s easier in the first instance - 07595 903 811.

Right, enough from me - here’s what the teams have to say across the business.

“The rental market in Solihull remains extremely competitive with the reported average monthly rent in B91 being £1497. Over the last 12 months, the average rent achieved for properties let in Solihull - B91 was £1,124 per month. This is a +17% change on the previous 12-month period. Renter demand continues to rise sharply & we are working hard to help add to the volume of new supply to the market. Thinking twice about investing your money into a property? Join The Landlord Club today where I share my top 3 investment opportunities every week, regardless of the agent it is marketed with!” - Gabrielle Argue, Lettings Manager

“‘Spring has sprung’ in the Dorridge office with 9 sales agreed so far this month. It would be amazing to continue with a sale each day, but we need more properties to sell!  Since the beginning of the year, within B93 we have sold or have offers on EVERYTHING – a fantastic testament to the team in Dorridge. The service they provide is outstanding, working alongside our marketing team achieving incredible sale prices, because we ‘show case’ every property, resulting in the highest views on Rightmove and reaching a wide audience on social media. However, what you don’t see is the proactivity within the office, and the hard work which takes place behind the scenes.  If you are thinking of selling, I would advise you to pop into the office and experience it first-hand. You will see that we are dedicated to help from beginning to end, which includes finding your next home. If you are at the beginning of your journey, or disillusioned with your current agent, call me – you will not be disappointed.” - Lisa Smith, Branch Manager - Dorridge and Sales Director

“A great week starting with an industry update at the Regional Propertymark conference. Lots of new instructions coming from the Premium team – 3 fabulous homes in B93 and B94 and 3 new properties to come in B91. We are now offering late night viewings on Thursdays for Premium homes, the first of these was Silhill Hall Road fully booked until 7pm, a service we will be spreading throughout the company over the coming weeks. I would personally like to emphasise that when we register a client that they are not excluded from pre-marketing emails if they are selling with another agent. We actively pre-market all of our properties, and in the best interest of our clients we wouldn’t dream of excluding potential buyers that have gone on the market with another agent. I say this as sadly as we are hearing lots of stories about vendors going on the market with other agents as they feel they won’t be offered properties pre-market unless they are selling with them.  Our industry should be more professional than that, it really is disappointing to regularly hear comments like that, but equally pleasing when buyers come back and thank us for keeping them up to date with new listings!” - Kathy Griffiths, Head of Premium

“A busy start to the month of April for the Solihull office with high demand leading to a surge in agreed sales. Of our first week’s sales, we have seen  90% of those sales agree for more than the asking price! The team have been working hard to ensure we continue with pre-market launch days and we have a busy weekend ahead for a number of viewings across those properties. Star players this week have been Elaine and Victoria for their tireless efforts in getting the best buyers committed to their purchases, there appear to be a number of buyers panic buying and making multiple offers in a desperation of getting a home. We’ve got a good number of 3 and 4 bedroom properties coming to market, so watch out for Dominic’s ’Sneak Peeks’ on Monday!” - Jo Sanders, Branch Manager - Solihull

“Another exciting week with lots of pricing and prepping for the launch of upcoming schemes in Solihull and Coventry! The launch of our development of luxury apartments at Carlton Lodge in Moseley has had a fantastic response and an update on marketing for Collier Gardens, Tidbury Green is coming very soon, keep an eye out for that! Finally, we secured the sale of another development plot ‘off market’ near Henley-in-Arden. As per each week, we stress that if you want land for development, agricultural or commercial purposes, register with us direct as 95% of all land sold at DM & Co. is done so ‘off market’.” - Chris Evans, Land & New Homes Manager

Let’s be honest - selling your home is never going to be easy, there will always be something that doesn’t quite go to plan - what is incredibly important is how your agent reacts to these instances.

If you would like to learn more about how we operate, please get in touch with the Solihull or Dorridge office on 0121 775 0101 or 01564 777 314 respectively or click here to book a valuation.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards,

Dominic Murphy

Managing Director – DM & Co. Homes