It’s all looking Positive…

We are very lucky with where we live as it creates a huge demand at all times, this coupled with a continuation of a shortage of properties to meet that demand means that our market is always supported and stays strong. Throughout this situation we have been analysing data and buyer movements even more than normal and this has showed us categorically that the level of buyer activity online has not only been sustained but in fact increased as the weeks have passed by. This was something that we suspected might happen due to the spike we always see In January after the period of Christmas when people/families are all together for just these few days. This is due to the fact that people/families realise that they need to upsize or downsize when they are together for a period and they naturally start talking about the future and think about changes they want or require for their lives to progress. Take that small amount of time together and massively increase it with even more restrictions and reduce the ability to vacate the main residence and it is statistically likely that people are going to realise the need or want to move. 

No one has a crystal ball to tell us what is going to happen to the housing market long term. However the stats clearly show that there is likely to be an explosion to the market once the restrictions are lifted, especially as the market never really got a chance to release following last year's uncertainty throughout Brexit. We expect to see a spike initially, this will then level off with a further spike through Autumn and then a strong start to 2021. Depending on how this plays out it will lay the path for where the market will go for the remainder of 2021. Whatever happens though, we know that our local market is strong and if it ever has any fluctuation it is short lived and recovers to a level higher than we were previously at. We only have to look at our local market compared to others nationally through last year to see the evidence is stacked in our favour.

Its not just our analysis that is showing this is likely going to be what happens, an insert in ‘Mortgage Introducer” starts with Why UK property will endure COVID-19 better than most. There are some great sections in this article, a few of the highlights are below:

“However, I believe the momentum around the post-‘Boris Bounce’-market has not disappeared. In fact, in lieu of transactions being available, pent-up demand is likely to further exacerbate market activity once the pandemic is over.

Global realtor Savills, in November 2018, forecasted that the average UK property’s value would increase 15% by 2024 – assuming a majority government is elected and a Brexit deal is agreed.

Although both of these events occurred, COVID-19’s economic disruption could have been a new impetus for Savills to revise this figure. However, Savills is confident that long-term demand for UK real estate will drive prices higher, resulting in them not changing their original projection.”

To read the full article click here.

In addition according to new data published by live-chat provider Yomdel, consumers making contact with agents via websites are sending an overwhelming message from deep within the coronavirus lockdown, saying:  “We’re coming back and we need to move”.

For the week ending 19 April, the Yomdel Property Sentiment Tracker (YPST), shows new enquiries were up strongly across the board from vendors, landlords, buyers and tenants, signalling that pressure from pent up demand for home moving services was pushing against restrictions from the four-week-old government-imposed coronavirus lockdown.