Is Storage the answer in todays housing market?

With all the uncertainty in the housing market at the moment its little wonder sellers are often under stress during the selling process. There are many reasons why people move home, some reasons will override any economic influence such as divorce, death or job change, however the majority of moves in the UK are largely voluntary, ranging from the addition of a child, wanting more room, to the ultimate extreme- a lottery win.
The housing market has been affected by recent economic influences since as early as January 2008, and as such the majority of moves in this period, have been mostly the first group mixed in with a few of the second group depending on various conditions, such as election results, and interest rate or unemployment  predictions. One thing certainly true is that the market is affected by the media and forecasts. This will vary from predictions of growth and lower than forecast unemployment figures to headline news that the mortgage lending for the last month was an all time low. This all affects confidence and this is what drives the market.
The other main reason for the volatile market we are seeing at the moment is the shortage of first time buyers, a direct result of several factors such as the average house price, availability of finance and the tightening of mortgage lending and the removal of self certificated mortgages. This factor is causing the current uncertainty and lack of activity it is not however the root cause, this is down to things like the banks excesses of the last 10 years.
Historically there was no shortage of first time buyers in a growing market when the banks were lending up to 125% mortgages, where the buy to let market was booming and landlords were usually the first time buyer. in the rare example that there was no first time buyer, or they pulled out, it would often be the case that someone at the top of the chain would buy at the bottom to enable the completion, knowing it would not be a problem selling soon after, and often for a tidy profit.

This is not the case in today's market. So when a seller has a complete chain including a first time buyer, they will be very keen to exchange contracts as the worry is that the chain could fall apart at any time. We have experience of this over the past few weeks and have found that from speaking to our customers they are saying this is the case.
By going into storage the seller is showing commitment to the sale and can wrap the deal up quicker. This will also enable them to be in a better buying position as they have now become the first time buyer and may have more leverage on price and availability because of this, they may be able to move quicker as they will be non dependant cash buyers.

Wooden Storage Containers on a specialist Removal Lorry. A Forklift loads and unloads from the lorry to reduce handling. An adjustable ramp is positioned for ease of loading.

Wooden Storage containers stacked in our warehouse in Thurrock. All contents are protected and handled with care.  

If your considering storage with a rental property as an option to break the chain, it is worth considering the details carefully. Many people automatically assume they need a similar sized house to rent as the one they have sold, but if they can manage with a smaller house and put some of their furniture & effects into store the difference between the rental costs will be far greater than the storage costs, furthermore it will save the furniture and effects being unnecessary handled as containerised storage only requires handling twice, the same as a normal removal.

There are many options available when considering storage, but its use is certainly an answer to the uncertain housing market we are now experiencing.

So Is Storage the answer to today's housing market? I very much doubt it, but it could be a major help for some people in the situations described above.

For Information on our storage services please visit our Website     www.ajstephensonremovals.co.uk

Alan Stephenson
A J Stephenson Removals
Billericay,
Essex