Property Review - September 2025
Thank you Howard Davis for writing this article. Howard is Managing Directory of Howard Independent East Agents.
Riding the Property Tide with Confidence
Howard looks at how property buyers and sellers should approach a confusing market this autumn.
What rises inevitably falls, and what falls will in time rise again.
The property market is no exception. Sensible buyers and sellers should be prepared for movement in either direction because the market rarely rewards those who wait too long.
Consider the analogy of an incoming tide. On a sunny day at the beach it feels as though there is plenty of time before the water reaches you. Yet those who delay may find to their cost that the tide turns more quickly than expected. The market operates in much the same way: unforgiving of hesitation, indifference or misplaced confidence.
Bargains are usually secured by those ready to act
In falling markets, buyers who wait until prices have reached the bottom of the cycle are often disappointed. By the time conditions improve much of the most attractively priced property has already been acquired. Bargains are usually secured by those ready to act, not those who attempt to predict the precise moment of the turn. Just as with the sea, the shift from ebb to flood can be sudden and decisive.
The signs of recovery, however, are visible to those who pay attention. Stale stock begins to sell as vendors adjust prices to realistic levels. Cash-ready buyers and those with financing in place take advantage of reduced competition. First-time buyers in particular often absorb unsold new-build units left behind at the market’s high-water mark. This activity marks the transition from stagnation to growth.
For opportunistic buyers the key is to move with conviction once the market has passed its nadir. Missing the very bottom is less important than securing a foothold before momentum builds. In property, as in life on the beach, it is far better to get slightly wet than to risk being swept away.
Yet timing is never perfect
Sellers who achieve strong prices may find their next purchase less favourable, while buyers who negotiate well may have to accept a weaker result on the selling side. Over the long term these short-term swings matter little. What counts is the capital growth that accrues through consistent home ownership.
The lesson is clear: stop trying to second-guess the tide. Property wealth is built not by playing the market’s cycles with precision, but by holding your ground through them.
