ELPG January Sales help beat home-buyer blues

ELPG Press releases

17-FEB-SalesAn innovative property sale devised by a group of leading solicitor-estate agents has proved a hit – providing the strongest sign yet of interest returning to the housing market.

Scores of prospective house buyers have made enquiries and arranged viewings to see properties featured in the ELPG’s January Sales initiative, which offers people the chance to secure homes at bargain prices.

The scheme was devised to encourage buyers to take advantage of the current economic conditions and purchase new homes, which are being advertised in the ELPG guide at new, reduced fixed prices.

Prospective buyers are able to compare these new values with the previous prices set for the properties last year – many of which have been cut by tens of thousands of pounds.

The ELPG, which consists of Warners, Neilsons, Drummond Miller, the Lints Partnership and Leslie Deans & Co, believes the scheme will convince buyers that they can purchase a new home at an affordable price, while showing that sellers are being realistic about how much they expect to sell their properties for.

Steve Spence, Senior Partner at ELPG member firm Neilsons, said that they had been overwhelmed by the number of people who had already enquired about the January Sales initiative.

He said: “The response to this scheme has been absolutely fantastic and we’re confident that we will start to see many of these properties being sold in the near future.

“In the last week alone, we arranged 138 viewings for properties included in the January Sales – which is a huge increase on the numbers that we were arranging before the scheme was introduced. These are great viewing figures for any week– for a week in January in the current market they are remarkable. These viewing figures show the buyers are out there and are ready to enter the property market soon.

“It shows that there are a lot of people who are looking to buy properties in Edinburgh at the moment and is a very encouraging sign that the housing market could start to recover during the course of this year.”

Leslie Deans, Senior Partner of Leslie Deans & Co, added: “We’ve seen property enquiries and viewings more than double as a result of the January Sales initiative. It is a spectacular rise and reinforces our belief that there is a great pent-up demand for properties in Edinburgh and the Lothians.

“There are lots of prospective buyers who currently have a deposit in place and have an agreement for a mortgage – they just need to find the right property at a price they can afford.

“Initiatives such as the January Sales are needed to ensure that confidence returns to the market, which in turn will lead to a recovery in house sales and prices. We’re delighted with the response so far and look forward to seeing this increase in property viewings turn into an increase in property sales.”