We talk about the UK housing market all the time at Move iQ.
House prices are up. Transactions are down. Buyers are returning. Sellers are becoming more realistic. Confidence is improving.
All useful information. But if you’re thinking about buying or selling a home in a particular town, city or postcode, national headlines will only tell you so much.
Because the reality is that there isn’t one housing market.
There are thousands of local ones.
And understanding what’s happening on the ground is one of the reasons Move iQ spends time talking to estate agents around the country.
Taking the Move iQ Podcast on the road
When Move iQ attends regional Propertymark property conferences, we take our podcast with us.
Of course, it gives us an opportunity to talk about some of the bigger issues affecting the property industry.
But it also gives us something incredibly valuable: access to the people who know their local property markets better than almost anyone: estate agents.
We can look at national statistics and market data, but an experienced local agent can tell us what’s happening in a local area right now.
- Are family homes attracting multiple buyers?
- Are properties taking longer to sell?
- Are buyers negotiating harder?
- Which types of property are in short supply?
- Are particular areas suddenly becoming more popular?
- What are sellers actually accepting compared with their original asking prices?
That insight adds another dimension to the data. And it’s exactly the type of information consumers should be looking for.
It’s the advice we give consumers
At Move iQ, we consistently encourage consumers to do their research before making major property decisions.
Part of that research should involve understanding the local market.
If you’re moving to an area you don’t know particularly well, speak to the agents working there. Ask questions; find out what’s selling, how quickly it’s selling and where demand is coming from.
The same applies if you’re selling.
A national house price index can’t tell you how buyers are behaving in your road or what has happened to demand for your type of property over the past few months.
A good local estate agent can. They have their finger on the pulse of their markets because they’re operating within them every day. That’s expertise consumers should be using.
Bringing local market expertise to life
Move iQ’s YouTube channel has now achieved more than 8 million views to date and is approaching 50,000 subscribers.
People come to us for property information, education and guidance. But when it comes to understanding the housing market, national data can only take you so far. It needs local context from people who are experiencing those markets first-hand.
That’s the thinking behind our Regional Housing Market Reviews.
Every quarter, we work with agents creating professionally produced, podcast-style market reviews for them, focused specifically on their area.
A Move iQ presenter leads the conversation, bringing in relevant market data and exploring it alongside the agent’s own first-hand experience. What’s happening to prices? Where is demand coming from? What’s selling? How are buyers, sellers and renters behaving? And what should someone considering a move in that area know?
The result is a regular piece of credible, useful market content that the agent can use across their own marketing – while also having the opportunity to reach consumers through Move iQ.
Showing your local expertise
Estate and Letting agents spend a great deal of time telling potential clients they’re local experts. But there’s a significant difference between saying it and demonstrating it.
Regular market commentary gives you the opportunity to show what you know without turning the conversation into a sales pitch.
Each Regional Housing Market Review is produced with your branding and Propertymark accreditation and delivered back to you to use across your own website, YouTube, social media, email and client communications.
The reviews can also be published through Move iQ, including within relevant regional playlists on our YouTube channel and, where appropriate, our Area Guides.
This gives the content a dual purpose: a valuable marketing asset for your own channels and an opportunity to build a wider association between you, your area and your expertise.
Becoming a Move iQ Regional Market Commentator
There will always be a place for national property commentary.
Interest rates, government policy, mortgage affordability, taxation and wider economic conditions affect movers across the country. But property itself remains intensely local.
What’s happening in Manchester isn’t necessarily what’s happening in Maidstone. One part of a county can behave very differently from another – sometimes the difference can be a few streets.
That’s why we want to complement Move iQ’s national market coverage with a network of trusted local voices.
We’re working with one Propertymark Protected agent per participating area, giving you the opportunity to become the Move iQ Regional Market Commentator for your patch.
Move iQ brings the production, market data, presenter-led format and consumer platform. You bring something we can’t replicate: the knowledge that comes from working in your local property market every day.
Together, that creates market commentary that’s more useful to consumers – and content that helps you consistently demonstrate your position as a local expert.
If you’re a Propertymark Protected agent and would like to find out more about Regional Housing Market Reviews and becoming the Move iQ Regional Market Commentator for your area, get in touch.
