Happy New Year

We would like to take this opportunity to wish you a Happy New Year.  It is slightly belated New Year wishes as, before communicating with you, we wanted to get an idea as to how the market was going to respond in the early stages of January.

We are delighted to report that activity levels have increased significantly in comparison to the final quarter of 2022.  We have been invited to carry out 27 valuations already which is 6 more than for the same period last year when the market was still riding high.  We have registered the details of 32 new buyers, booked 54 viewings and received a number of offers culminating in sales agreed.  In summary, a very positive start.  On another positive note, it has been pleasing to witness lenders reducing their rates and contacting our mortgage advisors to entice more borrowers as they clearly have money to lend.  Sadly this positive news doesn’t quite grab the same headlines in the media as negative news but it is an exceptionally positive sign set against the backdrop of recent increases to the Bank Of England base rate.  Added to this is the fact that we also have an exceptionally high employment rate which is in stark contrast to previous downturns.

As you know, our ethos is to always report honest news with a fair and balanced perspective.  We can therefore report that in the final quarter of 2022 we saw a correction in values.  We see this correction as the frothy part of property values coming off from last year when the market was at its absolute peak.  Our view is that prices will continue to fall marginally before stabilising in the spring and flatlining for the reminder of the year.  The last correction in property values was way back in 2008 so, some might say, we are overdue some realignment followed by a period of stability.  As is always the case, it is all relative if you are buying and selling in the same market and should not be a barrier to enter the market.

Our early thoughts are that 2023 will be a far better year for the property market than many pundits are predicting.  We are, hopefully, through the worst part which was the transitional period in the final quarter of last year and we expect the market to gain momentum week by week culminating in a productive spring and summer period.

Please feel free to get in touch with any property related questions and, once again, our warmest wishes for 2023.

Adam & Mark