26.3% of Royal Tunbridge Wells Property Sellers Reduce Their Asking Prices as the Property Market Equilibrium Starts to Return

• 178 of the 676 properties on the market in the Tunbridge Wells area have had a price reduction in the last 3 months.

• The average reduction has been 5.6% of the original asking price.

• This is great news for Tunbridge Wells home buyers and Tunbridge Wells buy-to-let landlords, strangely Tunbridge Wells house sellers as well. 

 

The last couple of years of the Tunbridge Wells property markethas seen some amazing prices being achieved with multiple offers and many properties selling for way over the asking price. 

 

Yet, as I have been writing about the Tunbridge Wells property market over the last few weeks, the tide is beginning to turn, and pendulum swing more towards a balanced Tunbridge Wellsproperty market as more homeowners in the Tunbridge Wells area (TN1 – TN4) have been reducing their asking prices. 

 

Of the 676 properties for sale in the Tunbridge Wells area,

178 have been reduced in price in the last 3 months.

 

This can be broken down as follows…

 

 

Price Range of the Tunbridge Wells Property	Number of Price Reductions in Last 3 Months
£100k-£150k	11
£150k-£200k	12
£200k-£250k	22
£250k-£300k	13
£300k-£350k	13
£350k-£400k	25
£400k-£500k	25
£500k-£600k	19
£600k-£750k	9
£750k-£1m	17
£1m-£2m	8
£2m-£3m	1
£3m-£5m	3

 

 

So why is this important and why is this good news, even for Tunbridge Wells house sellers?

 

Property industry statistics show that 5 out of 6 house sellers will buy another property and over 80% of those sellers will move up the property ladder.

 

When you move up the property ladder, that normally means you pay more for the one you want to move to (that’s why it’s called the property ladder).

 

So, whilst you won’t be getting as much for yours as you might have done earlier in the year, you won’t have to pay as much forthe one you want to buy (and the price difference between the two properties will be smaller – meaning you will end up saving money because of these reductions). 

 

Therefore, what is the level of reduction being seen in the Tunbridge Wells property market?

 

The average percentage of the price reduction in the

Tunbridge Wells area has been 5.6%.

 

I must stress house prices/values in Tunbridge Wells haven’t dropped 5.6%, just the asking prices of some of the properties on the market.

 

This is good news for Tunbridge Wells first-time buyers and landlords, as they will be more likely to buy a property at a more reasonable price whilst. As I explained above, this is also good news for sellers as most of them will end up paying less for thehigher priced property they end up buying after selling theirs.

 

So, what should Tunbridge Wells homeowners be aware of if they are selling their home now or in the future?

 

For me it is important that I inform all Tunbridge Wells property owners of the real story. This enables them to judge for themselves where they stand in the current Tunbridge Wells property market, thus enabling them to make better informed decisions.

 

You see some Tunbridge Wells estate agents will deliberately over inflate the suggested initial asking price to the house seller, because it gives them a bigger chance to secure the property on that agent’s book, as opposed to a competitor.

 

This practice is called overvaluing. 

 

Now of course, each Tunbridge Wells homeowner wants to get the most for their home, yet some estate agents know this and prey on those Tunbridge Wells house sellers. 

 

You might ask, what is the problem with that?

 

Well, you only get one opportunity at hitting the Tunbridge Wellsproperty market as a new property. Everybody has access to the internet, social media and the four main property portals (Rightmove, Boomin, On The Market, Zoopla), and your potential buyers will know the property market like the back of their hand. 

 

If you have a 2-bed Tunbridge Wells semi that is on the market for a 3-bed Tunbridge Wellssemi-detached house price ... those Tunbridge Wells buyers will ignore you.

 

Your Tunbridge Wells property will stick on the market as yourpotential buyers keep seeing your property on the portals each week.

 

These buyers will then start to believe there is something wrong with your property and dismiss it even further. That is until you, as the house seller, reduce your asking price. The issue is that sometimes these buyers will think something is wrong with your home and could bid you down even further, meaning you will get less even though you asked for more! (This was backed up by some research done by Which?).

 

Now according to research by Denton House, the average British house buyer only views around six properties before buying – so please don’t assume viewers will come round your optimistically priced (i.e., overvalued) Tunbridge Wells home, thinking they will knock you down - quite the opposite - they just won’t view your home in the first place.

 

And you know that because I bet you have done the same yourself when searching for property.

 

So, all I suggest is this ... be realistic with your asking price to start with.

 

Do that and you will sell your Tunbridge Wells property at a decent price to a decent buyer ... first time, every time - enabling you to move onto the next chapter of your life. 

 

If you know of anyone currently selling their home in the Tunbridge Wells area and finding things difficult, please share this article with them as it could be of interest.

What Was the Average Royal Tunbridge Wells House Price in 1952?

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Well, what a weekend the Jubilee was. Street parties, gatherings in the park, the purple bunting, egg and cress sandwiches, union jack flags, cheese and pineapple on cocktail sticks, and let's not forget the trifle – the Platinum Jubilee Party.  And no decent party is worth its salt without a game or a quiz.

So, if you have post-Jubilee blues, let me ask you, how much was the average Tunbridge Wells house worth in 1952?

To start with, let me look at what a property is worth today in Tunbridge Wells.

The average price paid for a property in the Tunbridge Wells area in the last 12 months was £531,440. 

Now, let's go back to 1952. Sir Winston Churchill was the Prime Minister, Newcastle won the FA Cup, London was covered in the Great Smog, free prescriptions on the NHS ended (it cost 1 shilling or 5p in new money), and King George IV, at the age of 56 passed away on the 6th February, meaning Princess Elizabeth became the Queen - as for housing…

The average price of a Tunbridge Wells home in 1952 was £4,339.

This means Tunbridge Wells house prices are 121 times higher since 1952. 

Yet over the last 70 years, the country has been subjected to 4.5% per annum inflation.

The 1952 Tunbridge Wells home is equivalent to £83,448 today when adjusted for inflation.

This means Tunbridge Wells house prices have increased by 504.8% in real terms since 1952.

So, does that mean house prices are more expensive today compared to 1952?

In 1952, the average annual male wage was £452, 8 shillings and 1 pence, meaning the average Tunbridge Wells house was 9.59 times the average wage. Today the average home is 8.85 times the average wage.

Yet let us not forget the average mortgage payment in 1952 was £11 per month. The average Brit earned £34 per month, meaning 32.3% of the household income was going on mortgage payments, whilst nationally today, according to the Nationwide, it stands at 28%. 

It's cheaper, in real terms, to buy a property in 2022 than in 1952.

 And that’s the point, some things in ‘real terms’ (real terms being true spending power of the money after taking into account wages, costs and inflation) were more expensive and some cheaper 70 years ago. For example, in 1952, petrol was equivalent (in today’s inflation-adjusted prices) to £1.02 per litre, a pint of beer £2, half a dozen eggs £2.20, cheddar cheese £2.40 per 500g, a basic radio £430, a Hoover £530 and a 12-inch TV £1,600.

So back to property, the Queen’s reign has seen some amazing house price rises in the UK, yet that growth hasn’t always been in constant upwards direction as we have had a couple of dips along the way.

We had a house price crash in 1990, when the average value of a Tunbridge Wells property dropped from £130,582 to £108,147 in 1996, only for them to start rising again.

 

Tunbridge Wells saw another house price crash between 2008 and 2009, and the average house price dropped from £390,627to £333,015 in a year.

 

So, what else has changed about property and housing since the Queen came onto the throne?

 

In 1952, only 32% of people owned their own home, whilst 50% of people rentedfrom a private landlord and 18% rented a council house.

 

By the time of the Silver Jubilee in 1977, 56% of people owned their own home, with 12% of people privately renting and 32% rented from the council.

 

Come the Golden Jubilee in 2002, 70% of people owned their own home, with 11% of people privately renting and 19% rented from the council.

 

Today, 63% of people own their own home, 20% of people privately rent and 17% rent from the council.

 

So, to conclude, as we look forward into the 21st century, I am sure the property market will be totally different again in 70 years. 

 

I hope you enjoyed reading this article and do share it with your friends if you find it interesting.

 

PS for all you Rightmove fans, the average Tunbridge Wells apartment in 1952 was worth £2,388, and a terraced home in Tunbridge Wells could be bought for on average £3,557.