Regional round-up
Each month we visit three agents across the country to discover what is happening in their businesses and local markets. This month we visit West Sussex, Birmingham and London.
The beginning of 2015 has certainly seen the property market wake up. Vendors are keen to sell their properties in the pro-active spirit of the New Year. Likewise, buyers are spurred on by the changes in stamp duty which has instilled confidence that they can a fford to buy a new home without paying hefty tax.
Currently, we are experiencing a large number of buyers from London looking to move out of the capital partly as a result of rising property prices. Towns and villages across Sussex and Surrey have fantastic rail links into the capital and are surrounded by beautiful countryside, offering the best of both worlds. Haywards Heath, for example, is less than an hour train journey away from Victoria and London Bridge stations and has the beautiful Ouse Valley, South Downs and Ashdown Forest right on the doorstep. These buyers are attracted to the prospect of owning a larger home than they could afford in London.
Currently, many buyers are looking for property near train stations. In particular, three and four bedroom detached houses are proving popular. They are ideal for families and perfectly situated for commuters. Flats and two bedroom properties are extremely popular with buy to let investors. In fact, we are currently marketing a two bedroom property which has had 19 viewings and four asking price offers in the space of a week. They offer fantastic margins for yield and are likely to rise in value as more and more people
are looking to move out of London.
Our estate agency serves towns, villages and cities across Sussex and into Surrey from Billingshurst and Horely to Hailsham and Brighton, with 17 o ces across the region. The South Downs was recently named the most expensive national park in which to buy a house. It is easy to see why; it’s home to the Seven Sisters, is extremely well cared for by the South Downs Partnership as well as the National Park Authority and has fantastic transport links around the park itself and to the rest of the UK.
This rise in local property prices is owed to the increase in London buyers and prices which is boosting the local market.
Birmingham is the second largest city in England situated in the West Midland; it is the most populous British city outside London, with just over 70 minutes travel time between the two. The City of Birmingham is growing rapidly and has been in recent years; also attracting millions of visitors into the city, every year for great shopping, dining and culture.
The ‘big city plan’, a 20-year vision for Birmingham, is now underway and is set to create a world class city centre with improved connectivity, infrastructure and new residential communities. By 2031, Birmingham will be renowned as an enterprising, innovative and green city that has undergone transformational change, growing its economy, and strengthening its position on the international stage. There is more exciting news for our metropolitan city, it has made it into the top 20 European Business Travel destinations; this is not long after being mentioned in Rough Guide top 10 world cities to visit in 2015. Birmingham provides an exciting city life which attracts thousands of people relocating here every year, with many people opting to rent city centre apartments.
A number of homebuyers and also buy to let investors are aware Birmingham is considered to have great investment prospects. Consequently, many properties are being snapped up as quickly as they’re put on the market. Just a couple of weeks ago for instance; a two bed apartment in Birmingham’s Chinese Quarter attracted huge responses within days of being released for sale. It attracted sixteen viewings in just one morning with a deal subsequently being agreed. Most viewings were from existing buy to let landlords looking to increase their portfolios. We have seen property price growth in the past year and a continuing high demand which I predict will push prices higher this year.
As an agent, Maguire Jackson goes the extra mile, helping people to rent, or buy, with a variety of properties currently on the market throughout the city.
With its many attractions including its famous circular tube station, Southgate attracts many people, especially those looking for a good residential area, with a cosmopolitan feel to it.
We saw in 2014, prices increase by 8 to 9 per cent, due to the lack of property stock in the area in relation to high demand from buyers, resulting in some properties being sold for in excess of the marketing price.
Last year saw us achieve enormous success via open days. Due to the high demand fr the sort of properties that we cater for, we have seen record high prices being achieved. If the market remains the same this year, then we will continue to see properties being marketed with an open day in mind.
Therefore, the turnaround time from point of instruction to a sale being agreed can be a matter of weeks.
However, what we have seen more of in the last quarter however, are properties coming to the market at over inflated prices, and as a result are not moving as quickly, and therefore having to be reduced in price.
If the supply rate increases, we will see a slight cooling of the market as buyers will definitely have more homes to choose from. But with the interest rates still at a record low, the local housing market in 2015 could remain strong, building on the growth we saw in 2014. However, the looming General Election may cause some slight uncertainty in the market – at least in the short term.
