3 Alternative Ways to Tackle the London Housing Market

Over the last couple of decades we've seen the internet have a huge impact on all areas of our day-to-day lives and the world of real estate has not been immune.

The housing market in London is notoriously difficult to navigate, with sky-high prices making it almost impossible for anyone to even think about living in the centre. Couple this with an incredibly fast-paced system that can see houses snapped up within hours of going on the market and you may understandably be feeling a little daunted about the prospect of selling your home!

If you’re not keen on the traditional route to selling your home then there are alternative ways to approach it – you don’t have to go with one of the many cookie-cutter estate agents in their shiny suits, clipboards in hand! We’ve come up with three different approaches that could work for you.

Use an online estate agent

Over the last couple of decades we’ve seen the internet have a huge impact on all areas of our day-to-day lives and the world of real estate has not been immune. The main advantage of an online estate agent is that they are usually much cheaper, in part simply because they don’t have the high overheads and office costs that traditional agents have. You may also find you have more control over the selling process and that there is scope for your property to reach a wider audience.

On the downside, online agents typically don’t have the expert local knowledge that a bricks-and-mortar estate agent has, meaning they don’t have quite the same sales ability and may not get you as high a price for your home.

Sell to a third party at a guaranteed price

If you’re up against a deadline and looking for a quick sale, then you might think about selling to a third-party organisation. Using a service like We Buy Any Home in London means you’ll get a guaranteed price for your home and can often have the money in your bank within days – ideal if you’re happy to compromise on price for the sake of speed.

One of the biggest stressors when buying and selling a home is the unpredictability and the worry that your chain could collapse at any time. Using We Buy Any Home at least takes the risk out of your sale.

Sell the house yourself

There’s no law that says that a home has to be sold through an estate agent, so if you’ve got plenty of time on your hands, love having control and want to save thousands of pounds on fees then why not have a go at selling your own house? There are no hard and fast rules about how you do it, but research is key here. Estate agents have a lot of local knowledge about house prices at their fingertips, which can help to secure the best price for your home, so you need to be clear about how your property stacks up compared to similar ones nearby.

If you’re prepared to put in the time though, have a little bit of marketing experience and are prepared to think outside the box, there’s no reason why you can’t make a successful sale on your own.