House buyers submit ‘CVs’ to stand out from crowd

Prospective purchasers look to get market edge by outlining their qualities as worthy would-be owners

SUBMITTING a CV for a job application has long been standard practice. But competition in the housing market has now become so fierce that property buyers are also seeking to sell themselves as worthy prospective owners.

Sellers have reported been deluged with written pleas and pictures of children and pets from those desperate to clinch their dream home.

Families hope the practice will help them “stand out” during fierce bidding wars, estate agents said.

In one example, a couple hoping to secure a six-bedroom house in the countryside saw off rival bidders by promising the seller they would be active participants in village life. The tactic is becoming more common as house hunters compete for a static or shrinking pool of properties.

Lucy Joerin, of Oxfordshire-based Stowhill Estates, said: “There is a huge imbalance between buyers and sellers, so houses that we would previously have needed three months to sell are now being snapped up in just a week.

“The market is also getting a lot more personal and less transactional.

“Buyers are trying anything to secure a property. A lot put forward their financial position as well as personal story and what they love about the property. It makes a real difference to the sellers. Lots prefer to sell to a family who they know are going to live in a property and contribute to village life, rather than use it as a second home.”

One couple had just made a successful offer for a six-bed home in Warwickshire by promising to be active members of the community, she said, triumphing over five other bidders. In a letter, the couple assured the seller that their two children would also attend the local school. “It went down well with the seller,” Ms Joerin added.

“It is a bit like submitting a CV or how sometimes in New York, people who want to buy apartments have to sit down for interviews.” She said purchasers of homes in the upper end of the market often use buying agents, with estate agents now “matchmakers” linking clients with sellers.

Jeremy Leaf, an estate agent in north

London, said buyers in the capital were using similar tactics, including letters that featured pictures of their children and pets. “People are trying to add a human story to their offer,” he said.

He cautioned that sellers should be wary. “The basics still apply, and sellers should be making hard-headed decisions,” he said.

Tarrant Parsons, at the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, said there was “limited supply available, coupled with steady demand growth”.