Maddisons are delighted to announce that despite many negative headlines, we have managed to break the ceiling prices on three roads in Tunbridge Wells over the past few weeks. While it’s true that after two years of significant growth, price increases are cooling, with the right marketing strategy you could still command a record price and have buyers queuing up to outbid one another or asking you to name your price.

Over the past two years, we have seen significant growth in the Tunbridge Wells’ housing market.  Between April 2020 and March 2022, prices rose by 14%, fuelled by the pandemic and the re-evaluation of home, with an increased focus specifically on outside space and working from home.

Many experts have predicted that with the rising cost of living and increased mortgage rates, the frenzied activity seen in the heart of the pandemic will not be witnessed again.  However, at Maddisons we are finding that it is still very possible to get a good price for your property. What’s more, we have managed to break the ceiling price on three residential streets in Tunbridge Wells in the past couple of months, so record prices are still there to be had. But a word of caution: you do need to have a keen knowledge of the local market as there is no one-size-fits-all strategy; you must adapt your marketing strategy to the property, the street and your target buyers.

How the pandemic impacted Tunbridge Wells property prices

Tunbridge Wells has always been a popular and bustling town with a large mix of residential property types, from studio flats to large period properties, catering to a wide choice of buyers. Pre-pandemic prices for decent-sized homes, with a large garden and off-road parking, sat at around £500 per square foot, with more desirable catchment areas around Claremont and St Peters primary schools elevating to around £525 per square foot.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have spent significantly more time inside our homes over the last two years, which has caused many to prioritise homeownership and rethink what they want in a living space. With working from home and hybrid working leading to fewer requirements to live so close to your work, ongoing demand for extra study space and larger gardens have meant that prices in Tunbridge Wells have risen to around £550 per square foot for really great properties.

Expert local market knowledge informs strategies that break ceiling prices

Despite the current economic issues facing the country in general, and therefore the property market, Maddisons Residential have still been able to secure three sales breaking the £600 per square foot ceiling price.  So how have we achieved this? The answer is by adapting our marketing strategies to the properties in question, combining with our expert knowledge of the local property market as well as our understanding of the key push and pull factors of buyers already known to us.

In one instance, we marketed the property discreetly. We got the seller to name the price that would stop them placing their home on the open market and shared this with the buyer who we knew wanted exactly this property.  However, with a property to sell, they knew they were not in the strongest position, competing against people who were in rented accommodation, and so buying without a chain. The buyer agreed to pay the seller’s price to stop the house being advertised and running the risk of losing it to these stronger buyers.

On another property, we deliberately priced it low and competitively to create a very fierce sealed bids situation.  Indeed it was the most popular sealed bids scenario we had ever seen!

With the third property, we took this fully to the market and attracted a number of buyers.  Again, there was one buyer who we felt was the strongest by far – both in terms of their position and because the house exactly met their needs.  So instead of taking it to sealed bids, we named the price that this buyer had to reach to secure it and stop a sealed bids process. 

Conclusion: the right property marketing strategy means sellers can still achieve record prices

Even though households are facing rising interest rates, an increase in mortgage repayments and cost-of-living pressures, we do not expect these headwinds to derail the momentum of the Tunbridge Wells property market yet, with price rises set to continue into 2024, although at a slowing pace. This is because there are still buyers keen to secure the right property now to see them through the next few years who are willing to pay that little bit extra to ensure they secure their dream home.

If you would like friendly, professional guidance on selling your home, why not contact our fabulous Maddisons Residential team. We would love to help your property reach its full sale-price potential.