Sandwiched between the sea and the South Downs, with good transport links to London, Brighton and Hove has become one of the most popular places to live in the country.

There is always plenty going on in the vibrant city centre. One example of this is the Brighton Festival, held in May every year, which was as brilliant as ever, with various events going on around the city. One of the many features of the festival is the hugely popular Artists Open Houses Festival.

All year round there are events in the cities music venues, concert halls, theatres etc. Brighton & Hove has some fantastic shopping and places to eat.

The South Downs is nearby with some fabulous walks and scenery.

Add to that beach activities, great parks and gardens, good local schools and a 55 minute train direct to London from both Hove & Brighton and you can understand why it’s such a great place to be.

There is also something for everyone when it comes to property. There is a variety of converted and purpose built flats, Victorian and Regency Town houses, Edwardian and 1930s semis and detached houses. Recently more contemporary developments and conversions are being constructed, particularly in the Hove Park Area.

Chris Sawyer (right) is a Director of Sawyer & Co. in Hove, East Sussex.

When the clocks changed, the cold dark days gave way to spring and quite honestly it’s changed the property market overnight. The weather has finally warmed up and so have our enquiries.

Aside from instructing more properties we are conducting more viewings and the overall sentiment is that of optimism and security. So far this year we are experiencing an interest in all our property ranges. No longer is the stamp duty bracket such a keen focus. There is much more varied interest which indicates people really are willing to move on.

Something of a bit of surprise is the amount of interest we have in our properties priced between £400 and £545k. This range was pretty much dead last year but it appears there really is renewed
confidence amongst potential purchasers. The people I speak to are much more comfortable with the property market as a whole. They are confident in its stability and furthermore confident they
are paying the right price too.

Wakefield has benefited from a serious amount of regeneration during the past couple of years. From a national art gallery to a contemporary new shopping centre, the tone of Wakefield has definitely changed. The biggest pull for Wakefield will always be the excellent standard of education children can receive here. We have five top class fee-paying schools within the District and it’s definitely one of the main reasons people look to live here.

Simon Miller (right) is a Partner at Holroyd Miller in Wakefield.

General enquiries have shot up since the New Year with hits on Rightmove exceeding 500,000 for the first time since we opened 18 months ago. Our stock tends to be base level up to £1,000,000
and we are generating viewings across the board. On a lettings basis we have only just launched our lettings brand (Securelets) into Stratford and have experienced very high demand but typically we are finding stock hard to come by.

Opening in Stratford upon Avon was a huge risk as despite it being my home town, I have never operated there. Jeremy McGinn & Co was only three years old when we opened here, with Stratford being our third office. This office also has a satellite showroom over in nearby Wellesbourne operated jointly with Penmans Solicitors and this has proved highly successful. Thankfully, our
approach seems to have been well received and the office continues to grow monthon-month.

Stratford is of course a very popular tourist destination with the Royal Shakespeare Theatre drawing visitors form across the world but Stratford has much more to offer and proves to be a very sought after place to live being equidistant between The Cotswolds and the Birmingham Conurbation. The M40 is a mere ten minutes drive giving excellent access to London, Coventry and Birmingham. The Town has seen considerable development during the last ten years and there are controversial plans for further development in the Shottery area. A new Parkway station is planned to enhance rail links with Birmingham and, more importantly, London.

Jeremy McGinn (right) is Managing Director, Jeremy & Co in Stratford upon Avon.