Sell Your House Now or Wait?

Transcript

Hi, I’m Ruban Selvanayagam from Property Solvers.

For over 20 years, we’ve been buying property directly for cash, running auctions and advising sellers across a wide range of market conditions.

And regardless of where things are at, one question comes up time and time again.

Should you sell now or wait?

So in this video, I’m going to break down what’s actually happening in 2026 and how to think about that decision properly.

Let’s get into it…

At any given point, there are headlines influencing how people feel about property.

Right now, for example, much of the focus is on global uncertainty – particularly geopolitical tensions such as the Iran situation – and how that may feed through into inflation, interest rates and the housing market in general.

Alongside that, broader cost of living concerns have already materially reshaped buyer behaviour, affordability and overall market sentiment over the last 4 to 5 years.

Those factors do matter, particularly when it comes to borrowing costs and buyer confidence. But it’s important to recognise that there’s always something creating hesitation in the background.

There’s never really been a period where everything lines up perfectly. And there’s always a reason why someone thinks waiting might lead to a better outcome.

For instance, if you look back over the last 10 years alone, we’ve had the fallout from Brexit, the pandemic which actually ended up fuelling a property boom in many parts of the country, and then the Liz Truss mini-budget and the sharp rise in interest rates that followed.

Indeed, there have certainly been ups and downs, but buyers still buy and sellers still sell.

The key is understanding what actually translates into real transactions. Because sentiment and reality don’t always move in the same direction.

So if we strip things back to fundamentals, mortgage rates are still materially higher than they were just a few years ago. Two-year fixed rates that were often sub-2% in 2021 are now commonly in the 5% to 6% range, depending on loan profile.

That shift has a direct impact on affordability. A buyer who could borrow around £400,000 a few years ago may now be closer to the mid £300,000s on the same income, depending on other factors such as whether they can afford a larger deposit.

Lenders are also stress-testing more conservatively than they did previously. That reduces the pool of buyers who can proceed, even if demand still exists in principle.

At the same time, buyers have become more analytical. They are comparing more listings, looking more closely at condition and factoring in refurbishment costs with far greater precision.

Build cost inflation since 2020 has been significant. BCIS data shows overall construction costs rising by roughly 25% to 40% over that period, with labour and materials both contributing to that increase.

Buyers are pricing that risk in, particularly on properties that aren’t turnkey. What might have been a £15,000 to £20,000 refurb a few years ago can now be materially higher depending on the scope.

Energy performance has also become more prominent. With energy prices rising sharply since 2021, EPC ratings and running costs are now a more visible part of the decision-making process.

That’s particularly relevant with proposed regulatory changes around minimum EPC standards for rental property. Buyers, especially investors like us, are factoring in potential upgrade costs more carefully.

Another important distinction is between pricing and activity. UK house prices have broadly moved within a relatively narrow band recently, with indices such as Nationwide and Halifax showing annual movements typically in the range of around -2% to +3% depending on timing and region.

But transaction volumes tell a different story. HM Land Registry data shows that residential transactions peaked at over 1.2 million in 2021, and have since fallen closer to the 900,000 to 1 million range in more recent periods.

That’s a meaningful reduction in liquidity. Fewer transactions mean fewer proceedable buyers at any given time.

Mortgage approvals are another useful indicator. Bank of England figures show approvals running at roughly 55,000 to 65,000 per month recently, compared to peaks of over 80,000 during stronger periods in the last decade.

That gap reflects tighter lending conditions and reduced affordability. It doesn’t remove demand, but it does narrow the pool of buyers who can actually proceed.

This creates what we would describe as a functioning but more measured environment. Properties are still selling, but not everything is selling, and not at any price.

This is where many sellers get caught out. The focus tends to be on whether prices might rise, but the more relevant question is how easy it is to actually get a sale agreed and completed.

Because that determines your timeline, your level of certainty and your negotiating position. A stable headline price environment does not necessarily mean an easy transaction.

What we are consistently seeing is that well-positioned properties are still performing. When pricing is aligned with buyer expectations, demand tends to show up relatively quickly. 2 to 4  bedroom terraced and semi-detached houses are good examples of housing stock that does well when sellers are realistic.

Rightmove has previously reported that well-priced properties can secure a buyer within a few weeks of listing. That early window is where the strongest interest typically sits.

Viewings tend to cluster early, and that activity creates momentum. Momentum is what drives competitive tension and stronger offers.

If that alignment isn’t there, the response is very different. What we often see when struggling sellers reach out to Property Solvers is not a flood of low offers, but actually very limited engagement.

And silence in property is feedback. It usually means the property is being seen, assessed and passed over.

We have seen this repeatedly with very similar properties. One is priced in line with current conditions and generates early traction, while the other is launched optimistically and struggles to gain traction.

The second property often ends up reducing, sometimes more than once. In many cases, it ultimately sells for less than it could have achieved with stronger initial positioning.

Another point worth touching on is how quickly the landscape has shifted. The period between 2020 and 2022 – which was the last boom market we saw across much of the UK – was defined by unusually low borrowing costs, which supported higher levels of demand and faster transactions.

That environment allowed buyers to stretch further. It also meant that pricing discipline was less critical than it is today.

What we’re seeing now is more of a reset. Borrowing costs have normalised, and that has brought a more measured approach from buyers.

That doesn’t remove the opportunity to achieve a good result. It simply means buyers are placing more emphasis on value and risk.

We also need to consider supply. In certain parts of the market, there has been an increase in listings, particularly where landlords are reassessing yields following tax and regulatory changes and higher financing costs.

When supply increases and demand becomes more selective, competition between sellers intensifies. That makes initial positioning even more important.

The financing mix also matters. While cash buyers and auction participants remain active, the majority of transactions still rely on mortgage lending.

That ties the overall pace of the market back to affordability and lending conditions. When those tighten, the number of proceedable buyers reduces.

We are also seeing a clearer divide between turnkey or fully refurbished properties and those requiring work. Buyers are increasingly discounting for seemingly ever rising material  and labour costs time and uncertainty when assessing what needs to be done on the house.

All of these factors point in the same direction. The environment is still active, but it is operating with greater scrutiny from buyers.

So when does it make sense to sell now?

Selling now can make sense in a range of situations. If you have found another property, want clarity around timing or are operating in a stronger local market – perhaps where there infrastructure developments happening, there is still every chance of achieving a solid outcome.

Because transactions are still happening across the country. The environment has not stopped, it has simply become more selective.

On the other hand, waiting can be a valid approach. If you are under no time pressure and comfortable holding the property, you may choose to see how conditions evolve.

But it’s important to recognise what waiting actually involves. You are effectively taking a view on interest rates, affordability and buyer confidence.

Those are influenced by inflation, Bank of England policy and wider macroeconomic conditions. Events like geopolitical tensions feed into that, but usually through borrowing costs rather than immediate price changes.

The risk of waiting isn’t always a sharp drop in values. More often, it’s a slower, less predictable market with reduced urgency from buyers.

If affordability remains tight, demand can stay selective. That typically shows up in longer selling times and more negotiation, even if prices appear relatively stable.

And in an environment where borrowing costs are structurally higher than the ultra-low-rate era, expecting another major surge in house prices over the next few years may prove an ambitious assumption in many parts of the market.

And there’s also the cost of time. Mortgage payments, extra fees if you have to extend,  insurance, maintenance and general holding costs continue regardless of whether the property is on the market.

The key takeaway here is that this isn’t really about trying to perfectly time things. It’s about understanding how your property fits into current demand and what outcome you are trying to achieve.

And it’s also worth remembering that if you feel like you’re having to accept a lower price than you might have achieved a few years ago, the property you go on to buy is also likely to have adjusted in value to some degree as well. In many cases, that helps balance things out more than sellers initially realise.

Because in this environment, some properties are selling very efficiently while others are not moving at all. That difference is rarely about luck – it is usually about alignment with buyer expectations.

At Property Solvers, we look at all available routes, whether that’s a direct cash sale, auction through our own platform or the open market, depending on what actually works best in the current conditions.

If what I’ve covered has resonated, the team at Property Solvers would be more than happy to have a free and no-obligation chat about your situation and talk through the most effective route forward.

Simply head to our website, call us 24/7 on 0800 044 3696 or email us at info@propertysolvers.co.uk.

And if you’ve found this useful, feel free to like and subscribe for more clear, data-led insights into how the UK property market really works.

A big thanks for watching.