Market Update

Posted on Monday, September 26, 2016

September was “back to school” month and I’m sure we have all noticed the increased traffic levels during the “school runs” at the start and end of the day.

For many people it followed a property move that enabled them to access a particular school catchment area –one of the major factors in choosing a home.

The property market was largely steady and is now settling into a more “normalised” pattern following the pre and immediate post Brexit furore.

The real impact, if there is to be one, of Brexit is likely to be some three years away when our exit from Europe will actually takes place and it looks as though the market will conform to the usual drivers of supply and demand, affordability and availability of money in the interim.

Interest rates look set to remain at historic lows but there is no doubt that there has been, and currently is, some readjustment in prices as the market had reached levels where affordability was getting stretched too far.

What this means for anyone selling is that there is a good market providing your property price is sensible. In fact there is plenty of evidence that those sellers who have competitively priced their properties in recent weeks have attracted considerable interest and generated sales at excellent sales prices, often at or above the asking price.

The fundamentals of the market remain sound. There is more demand than supply and so readjustments in price are being mitigated by the need for more stock.

The lettings market is a similar picture. Demand is high but affordability has slowed or stopped rental values increasing at the rates of recent years. For landlords it is clearly most important for investment return to have a good quality tenant in situ rather than hold out for a slightly excessive rent and run the risk of a void period.

Key to success therefore in both sales and lettings is an accurate valuation based on today’s conditions not historic comparable data which has been superseded by the market. Alongside this, proactive marketing that does much more than just putting a property on the internet and waiting for the phone to ring is vital. We are in constant contact with our large databases of potential buyers and tenants and work hard to match the right person with the right property thereby creating a real “value add” transaction for both parties.

As we enter October there is still time (just) to buy and move by Christmas and with the lettings market providing a much swifter moving experience, tenants can often be in a new home within two or three weeks.

As always, our teams will be delighted to advise and assist you with your plans.

Darren Murphy and Chris Harper

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