What can we learn from England’s Ashes defeat for your property search?
What can we learn from England’s Ashes defeat for your property search?
If you’re an England Cricket fan like me, then the past couple of months have been quite painful. There was so much hope before the team landed in Australia that we would bring the Ashes back to England for the first time since 2010-11. As things turned out, the series wasn’t even close, and Australia retained the famous urn at a canter.
“What does this have to do with property?” I hear you ask. Well, in short, not a lot. However, there were some obvious errors made by the England Cricket team and we can draw some parallels with your property search.
Prepare Properly
The Ashes bid was doomed for England from as early as 24 July 2025. This was the day they announced that their ashes preparation would be a white ball series in New Zealand, nets and an intra-squad warm-up match. This was never going to be enough to get the team ready for the difficulties of facing a world-classed team in their own back yard.
When it comes to your property search, you need to make sure that you prepare properly as well. Do your research. It is so important to understand the areas you are looking in, what houses have traded for in the recent market, what your options are and which agents are most likely to have the right houses for you, so you can focus more of your attention on them.
Pick the Right Team
The England Cricket team is built around competing in the Ashes. It is the pinnacle of the sport for them. This series has been at the forefront of the selectors’ minds for the past 2 years. They wanted a pace-bowling barrage to unsettle the Aussies, and we saw in the first innings in Perth how this can work. But we ended the series with 4 of the 5 first-choice bowlers injured and unable to bowl.
In the meantime, we passed over experienced, tried and tested bowlers who have made their careers bowling in long-format cricket week after week.
It is so important to make sure you have the right team, otherwise you just won’t be competitive. When buying a house this is no different. You need to make sure you have the right agent instructed to sell your house. You need a great mortgage advisor to give you the best financial advice. You need a great lawyer to protect your legal interests and a great surveyor to ensure that the house you are buying is sound.
You should have all this lined up before you even start looking at houses, otherwise the process can be frustrating and difficult, and you can make mistakes which are costly.
Play the Long Game
This series saw not one but two 2-day test matches. “Bazball” was heralded as a breath of fresh air when Brendan McCullum and Ben Stokes launched it. The fortunes of the England team turned around, and we initially won so many matches with this fresh approach.
This Ashes series highlighted the need for patience and to play the long game. Too often, the England team were guilty of trying to press things on quickly and take the game to the opposition, so they didn’t make the most of the time they had to let the opposition come to them.
When you are searching for your next home, patience is so important as well. It is all to easy to be eager to feel pressured to find somewhere to buy, particularly if you have agreed a sale of your own home. But is there a bigger and more costly mistake than buying something you shouldn’t?
Sometimes you must take a moment to really understand what your options are and if any of them work for you. If you aren’t sure that the house you are buying is the right one, then don’t buy it. While you might disappoint the buyers of your home, it is the decision you will be able to live with.
Get Expert Help
The England team often brings in local experts to help advise on nuances of the local environment. They chose not to do this in Australia. In fact, they slimmed down their coaching squad and didn’t even have a specialist fielding coach. It could easily be argued that the biggest difference between the two side in The Ashes, was the fielding. Australia took their chances and England didn’t.
If the whole idea of finding your next home seems too difficult for you, then know that there is expert help out there for you. A buying agent will be in your corner to help you through all aspects of the buying process. They are experts in property in the area you are looking. Knowing the nuances of the local property market and where and when to be looking will put you a step ahead of the rest.
They will also have relationships with all the right people to bring in the best team to help and get you access to properties before you can yourself. They help by saving you time, money and energy and make your search far more likely to be successful.
If this sounds like something you would like to explore then reach out to book an informal, no obligation conversation on info@oxfordpropertyconsulting.co.uk