The best homes are still worth paying for

The property market has certainly become more sluggish and difficult to navigate in the last few years, but one thing has not changed. The best houses are still the hardest to buy.

After several years of price falls and buyers sitting on their hands, reluctant to commit, there is now much more stock on the market and therefore more choice and negotiating power for buyers – but not every property should be viewed through the same lens.

A house with the right location, beautiful architecture, privacy, good outside space and a strong sense of place will always be in short supply. Some are held by owners for generations, with no intention of putting them on the open market. They rarely become available and are often sold without ever appearing on a property portal.

Through local knowledge, established relationships and an understanding of what owners may consider doing, a buying agent can sometimes identify unique, off-market opportunities before a property is formally offered for sale. This can give a buyer the opportunity to negotiate directly with an owner before the property reaches the wider market. The win for the seller is a quiet, private sale without having to open their home up online or to multiple in-person viewings.

This past year alone, I have purchased three homes in the South Downs and surrounding villages that had not been to market for more than 35 years. These are precisely the sort of properties that are hardest to find through the traditional search process and often the owners are very selective about who they will consider selling to.

Of course, price is important, but it also needs to be the right buyer.

If you’re a cash buyer, being able to move quickly and offer certainty is particularly valuable. A clean, proceedable offer is extremely attractive to a seller, especially where a property has never been intended for the open market. But so is your backstory, why you want to buy the property, what you love about it and how you plan to live in it. People passing on a treasured family home usually want it to go to someone who will love it as much as they do.

The temptation in a slower market is to assume that prices will continue to fall and that waiting will automatically produce a better deal. Sometimes it will. But waiting can also mean missing out on the property that was worth buying. When you do find the property you want, the competition may be tougher than you think, so be prepared to move quickly and negotiate smartly.