The Property Market Has Changed. Has Your Selling Strategy?

What sellers in Devon need to know about today's more competitive property market

Recent analysis of the North Devon property market highlighted an interesting shift that I think has wider relevance across Devon and the South West: buyers have more choice, and that is changing the dynamics of selling a property.

Although the article from Nic Chbat, Director of Match Property, was looking specifically at North Devon, I think the wider point is relevant across Devon, the South West and, to some extent, the UK as a whole. Because when buyers have more properties to choose from, your home isn't being judged in isolation. It's being compared.

And that changes the selling strategy.

So, what's actually happening in the property market?

Let's start with the good news. This isn't a story about the housing market collapsing.

The latest ONS figures show that the average house price across the South West was around £303,000 in May 2026, up slightly from £297,000 a year earlier. But that regional average hides some pretty significant local differences.

For example, average prices in May 2026 were broadly unchanged in East Devon, while West Devon was up 2.2%, Exeter was down 2.2% and South Hams was down 6.5%.

In other words, there isn't really one Devon property market. Location, property type, price bracket and condition all matter. And there's another important factor at play: choice.

Rightmove's August 2026 data shows that the number of homes for sale nationally is at a 12-year high for this time of year.

In the South West, the average asking price is around £378,000 and the average time to secure a buyer is currently around 71 days.

That doesn't mean properties aren't selling. It means buyers have more opportunities to compare. And when buyers have more choice, sellers need to work harder to give them a reason to choose their property.

Would Your Home Make the Shortlist?

For most buyers, the search begins online. Property portals allow them to compare homes by location, price, size, condition and features before deciding which ones they want to view.

That means the first impression of a property is often formed through its photographs, long before a buyer crosses the threshold.

In a market where buyers have more choice, that first impression matters. The way a property is presented can influence how easily a buyer understands the space, appreciates its features and, ultimately, decides whether it is worth viewing.

Presentation isn't about making a property look perfect. It's about making sure the photographs and marketing communicate its potential as clearly as possible.

What Makes a Home Feel Worth the Asking Price?

Getting the asking price right is clearly important in a market where buyers have choice.

Rightmove's current data reinforces that point: nationally, properties are taking longer to secure a buyer than earlier in the year, while the number of homes available to buyers remains high.

But I think there's another part of the equation that is sometimes overlooked. What happens when two properties are similarly priced? What makes a buyer choose one over the other? That's where presentation comes in.

Because if two homes are competing for the same buyer, the property that creates the strongest first impression has an advantage. Not necessarily because it's the better house, or that it's been renovated to within an inch of its life.

But because the buyer can more easily see themselves living there.

I'm not suggesting you renovate your entire house.

Good presentation doesn't necessarily mean making major changes to a property. Often, it's about making considered decisions that allow the existing space and its features to work as well as possible.

That might mean reviewing the furniture layout, creating a stronger sense of flow between rooms, making the purpose of a space clear, or drawing attention to a feature that might otherwise be overlooked.

It can also be about recognising where something is competing with the space rather than enhancing it. The aim is to create a clear, cohesive impression of the property, one that allows buyers to understand not only what the home is, but what it could be.

It's about presenting the property in a way that reflects it’s potential and allows it to compete confidently in it’s market.

From Empty Space to Possibility.

This is where staging can make a meaningful difference.

An empty property can be difficult to read. Without furniture, it isn't always easy to judge scale, proportion or how the rooms are intended to work. A generous living room can feel surprisingly undefined, while a bedroom can leave buyers wondering what size bed or furniture the space will comfortably accommodate.

Introducing the right furniture and styling gives those spaces context. It helps establish scale, defines how rooms can be used and creates a sense of how the property might feel as a home.

That doesn't mean furnishing every room heavily or imposing a particular style. The choices should be appropriate to the property, its architecture, its location and the buyers it is likely to attract.

For a vacant property, that might mean showing how an open-plan space can function as both living and dining areas. It might mean demonstrating that a bedroom comfortably accommodates a bed, or creating a sense of purpose in a room that could otherwise be overlooked.

Furniture shows the possibilities. Styling helps create the connection.

And that matters because buyers aren't simply assessing square footage and room dimensions. They're trying to work out whether the property could work for them.

Staging can also work with what you already have.

Staging isn't limited to vacant properties. In many cases, the starting point is a home that is already furnished, but where the existing layout or styling isn't necessarily helping the property communicate at its best.

A room can have too much furniture, making it feel smaller than it is. A sofa might interrupt the natural flow of the space. A dining table can dominate a room, or a spare bedroom can lose its sense of purpose beneath the everyday realities of family life.

These aren't necessarily problems with the property itself. They're opportunities to look at the space differently. Sometimes the most effective changes involve taking something away. Sometimes furniture needs to be repositioned, a room reconfigured or a few carefully chosen pieces introduced to bring greater balance and definition.

That's one of the things I enjoy most about staging: working with what is already there and understanding what needs to change and what doesn't. The objective is to create a home that feels considered, spacious and cohesive, while allowing its underlying qualities to come through.

Sometimes staging means adding. Sometimes it means editing. And often, it's about seeing the space differently.

And then there's the camera...

There is another layer to consider when preparing a property for sale: how it translates through a camera lens.

My background in photography and years working on magazine shoots have made me very aware of the difference between how a room feels in person and how it reads in a photograph.

Photography removes the experience of physically moving through a space. The photograph has to communicate the proportions, flow and character of a room within a single frame. That means seemingly small decisions can have a significant effect.

The relationship between a sofa and the surrounding space. The position of a bed within a bedroom. The amount of visual detail on a surface. Whether a window is drawing the eye towards a view or being lost behind furniture or a closed blind. Even the position of a single chair can alter the balance of an image.

It's not about making a room look perfect. It's about making sure the photograph communicates what is actually good about the room. And when that photograph is the first introduction a potential buyer has to your property, that's worth getting right.

From, "How do we get them to view?" to, "Why would they choose us?"

A different kind of housing market.

The way properties are sold has changed.

With more choice available, buyers are becoming more selective and the best-presented properties are helping to set the benchmark for the rest of the market.

This doesn't mean presentation can compensate for an unrealistic price, poor location or fundamental issues with a property. Price, location and condition still matter. But where properties are competing for the same buyer, presentation can become the differentiator. Buyers see what is possible. They compare one property with another. And increasingly, sellers are having to meet the standard being set by the best-presented homes in their market.

For me, that's where staging sits within the wider selling strategy. It's not about making a property look better for the sake of it. It's about presenting its value clearly in a market where buyers have options.

Don't reduce the price. Elevate the potential.

The property market isn't standing still, and neither are buyer expectations.

For sellers across Devon and the wider South West, the question is no longer simply “What is my property worth?” It's also, “How well am I communicating that value?”

Because when buyers have choices, the properties that are priced appropriately and presented thoughtfully are the ones setting the standard others are measured against.

Presentation isn't the whole selling strategy. But in today's market, it deserves to be part of it.

That's exactly where Ro can help, from furnishing and styling vacant properties to preparing occupied homes for sale and creating considered, market-ready spaces that photograph beautifully.

Don't reduce the price. Elevate the potential.

With thanks to Nic Chbat for prompting this reflection with his recent commentary on the North Devon property market.

If you're preparing a property for sale and would like an objective view of how it could be presented, Ro Property Staging & Design Ltd offers property staging and pre-sale styling across Devon and the wider South West.