Over 40% of Mancs would purchase a home without stepping inside, study reveals
A new study performed by online estate agent Purplebricks has revealed that as many as 40% of Mancunians would place an offer on a property without setting foot inside.
Moving home has always been complicated enough in ordinary times. But when the pandemic hit, a significantly-sized spanner was thrown into the works to make the process even more convoluted than before.
Due to COVID regulations, many house viewings were either subject to a number of restrictions or stopped altogether.
Still, despite this huge hurdle for homebuyers, the property market has continued to tick over thanks to the launch of virtual viewings.
Initially, there was scepticism – with some claiming that people would never be sold on a new house with camera footage alone.
But it appears that virtual viewings have been far more successful than many expected.
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According to recent research compiled by online estate agent Purplebricks, as many as 40% of Mancunians said they would happily place an offer on a property without setting foot inside.
61% of homebuyers even suggested virtual viewings had advantages – claiming they were more efficient and less awkward than face-to-face viewings.
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More than a third also said they expected virtual viewings to become the norm when house hunting.
Alex Beswick, Territory Operator for Manchester at Purplebricks, said: “The current pandemic has thrown up many new challenges for buyers and sellers across Manchester. But this has heralded a new era of virtual house hunting and homeowners are quickly adopting this new way of buying and selling homes.
“Buyers are enjoying the speed and ease of doing viewings from the comfort of their own sofa, and sellers have welcomed a new way to show off their property – so it’s more important than ever to make a great virtual first impression.”
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When it comes to virtual viewings, some of the biggest turn-offs are apparently dark and small areas, overgrown gardens and dirty items left in sight.
Lack of floorplans and badly-decorated rooms are also cited as factors that might put off a potential buyer.
Kate Watson-Smyth
Purplebricks has also been working with interiors expert Kate Watson-Smyth to provide tips on how to make your house look appealing online – which include keeping areas tidy, offering 360 views of rooms, decluttering, and welcoming in as much natural light as possible.
Kate said: “There are a number of practical things you can do to make a great first impression, but the hardest part of showing your home virtually is giving people that feeling or vibe you get when you step into a house. While you can’t delight them with the smell of freshly baked bread or coffee brewing as they walk in the door, there are some clever tricks you can do.”
“Place fresh flowers to brighten up a room, make sure all of the rooms are clean and tidy, show off any storage space, pull back the curtains to let in the light, and stage the rooms to encourage buyers to see themselves in the home with their family and friends.”
For more of Kate’s styling tips, go to @mad_about_the_house or visit @purplebricksuk.
Property
Council calls on Manchester public to help bring hundreds of empty homes back into use
Emily Sergeant
Residents across Manchester are being called on to help bring hundreds of empty homes across the region back into use.
Since the beginning of this year, a major review has been underway around the city’s draft strategy for bringing empty homes back into use to help meet demand for affordable homes across the city, while also improving communities by tackling empty homes that can blight an area… but now, Manchester City Council needs your help.
Following a major public consultation, the Council is now acting on feedback to accelerate plans to bring as many long-term empty homes back into active use as possible.
Although the number of long-term empty homes in Manchester is near a historic low, with the Council having managed to reduce the number by more than half since 2013, there is still more work to be done.
“Every void property is a missed opportunity to provide a family a place to live, reduce homelessness, and lessen the burden on temporary accommodation,” the Council said in a statement.
The Council is calling on the Manchester public to help bring hundreds of empty homes back into use / Credit: Benjamin Elliott (via Unsplash)
So, how can residents help then? What do you need to do if you spot an empty home on a street nearby?
Well, the easiest way to report an empty home is to report the issue online here, or by emailing [email protected]. And then once that’s done, a team of dedicated empty homes officers will take up the case to find out who owns the property and work with the owner on a plan to bring the home back into use.
The vast number of empty homes are privately owned with complex histories, and there are some cases where an owner may have passed away.
While working collaboratively with housing providers, voluntary organisations and public services are also a key element of detecting potentially empty or ‘problematic’ homes to repurpose them.
Officers can also support, where required, if a communication or language poses a barrier to resolving an empty home issue.
Tailored approaches to different communities – where empty homes impact neighbourhoods in different ways – are also being considered, according to the Council.
“To think, if we could bring all empty homes back into use, then we could provide more homes for those on the housing register and take pressure off the whole housing system,” explained Cllr Gavin White, who is Manchester City Council’s executive member for housing and development.
“The potential of making empty homes a thing of the past is huge for Manchester families looking for a place to call home – and a significant part of tackling the housing crisis.”
Featured Image – Wikimedia Commons
Property
Much-loved Manc music shop Tasty Records goes up for sale as owners calls on next custodians to take over local favourite
Danny Jones
Much-loved Greater Manchester record and music store Tasty Records has officially closed, and the current custodian is putting the Trafford institution up for sale in hopes that someone will take over as worthy successors.
What an opportunity for any budding entrepreneurs.
The Alty record shop in its current brick-and-mortar form has stood for some time now, but popular owner Ben Molesworth has been selling physical media from 2012 onwards, and now his time at the helm of the hailed south Manchester spot has come to a somewhat bittersweet end.
A bit of a local legend with regulars who frequent and flick through his coveted vinyl collection, not just on Record Store Day but throughout the year, the area will be sad to see him go – and so will we – but it doesn’t mean this has to be the end.
“The shop deserves more than I can give it, and I have sold records in Altrincham for 14 years”, he explains, before going on to add that “It’s time for me to concentrate on different things.
“What happens now?” he continues, “Keep following! I’m not sure yet. I have closed the doors, but everything is still there… A busy website, Discogs, socials, a strong set of accounts and £ks of great vinyl stock.”
You’d think with a sales pitch like that, it would be a no-brainer for audiophiles who’ve ever dreamt of spending their days cataloguing their favourite tunes and artists, whilst providing a still criminally unsung public service: delivering printed music to the masses.
With more than a decade and a half of experience to his name, we’re sure Ben has plenty of wisdom to impart about how to take good care of his baby moving forward – he just needs some to set up to the plate/turntable.
As saturated as the Manc music market and record store scene is, it was also comfortably on this list pretty much since day one.
All that being said, part of the challenge for any independent business is getting the word out, hence why we thought we’d help do our bit by shouting about it.
He signed off by adding: “Thank you to all of my wonderful customers, friends and supporters. Tasty Recordsisn’t dead, only sleeping. Lots of love, Ben.”
For anyone who might fancy taking over this “awesome little record shop” (his words AND ours), you can express your interest/table an offer over email via [email protected].
What an honour it would be to carry on this place’s legacy – here’s hoping someone takes up the mantle soon.
The Manc -
16th February 2021 
