Nearly the end of November and creeping towards the end of the 2nd lockdown! We are trading but with locked doors and are still taking lots of calls, conducting distanced viewings, valuations and virtual property inspections.
The market continues to be buoyant with buyers prepared to visit a single house (often after watching the virtual tour we provided) and then making an offer. They are very targeted viewers, who know what they want and act quickly. Although the phones seem now to be getting quieter for the lead up to Christmas, we are of the opinion that if the right property is listed at the right price it will still sell. So, I would encourage vendors not to wait until the new year, get on with it now as who knows what will happen at the start of 2021!
The market has been good. What about the future? We are reading some negative articles in some press about price drops. This may well be the case in the cities, but we feel this is very unlikely down here. We do not see the demand for property decreasing in this area. Although there may be a slow down at the start of 2021, as the year progresses, Covid dilutes in impact and Brexit gets sorted, then we can see some confidence returning.
The stats for this time of year are a little skewed due to recent events so its difficult to gauge the market. Rightmove report national sales agreed are up by 50% on October last year! 72% in the south of England. The strongest sector for sales has been the £200,000 - £500,000 sector, where stamp duty savings have been the highest. For October monthly price change was +1.1%. Moving forward is anyone’s guess, but certainly now is a time still to try and sell!
David Edwards MRICS
