3 minute read
An exciting time for buying property
Many people are enjoying the Stamp Duty break and some are returning to London
Since the turn of the year, we have seen an incredibly buoyant Sales in Prime Central London 1st January – 1st May ** property market in England with Up to £1m £1m - £2m £2m - £5m Above £5m current prices at an all-time high*. 2019 219 195 144 62 This is in part due to the Stamp 2020 221 167 147 59 Duty Land Tax holiday that the government implemented in 2020 2021 349 245 203 93 as part of the Covid measures to keep the UK economy moving, but busy prime central London has been in the first also people’s buying habits having changed four months of 2021. What makes this even since Covid. A greater number of people have more remarkable is that all these transactions recently been prioritising larger gardens have taken place without the usual influx of or terraces and a dedicated study or home foreign buyers flying in to buy their bit of office. After the first lockdown, the rush was London real estate. I am not suggesting for to escape the cities with a lot of people wanting one second that none of these properties were to buy their own bit of countryside; but almost snapped up by foreign buyers, as I personally a year on, we are now seeing a number of those have acquired three for foreign clients. They people looking to either make the move back wanted to use a buyer’s agent as their eyes into the cities or at least have a pied-à-terre. and ears on the ground and employed my local This has meant that the smaller apartments expertise to identify a handful of properties without outside space in the likes of prime before doing a video call to make the final central London - that were almost impossible choice. That aside, it seems there hasn’t been to sell after the first lockdown - have now the usual number of international buyers we become very desirable, leading to a shortage of would normally see in a traditional central stock across the board. London market.
The graph below demonstrates just how Likewise, houses in suburbs - which offer that blend of greater living space and freedom, whilst still easily connected to the city centres for business - are still seeing substantial demand with many properties going to “best and final” sealed bids. Just last week, my clients were involved in a sealed bid on a house in Chiswick that they were especially keen on and didn’t want to lose. We were first through the door, but it became very apparent that this house was so popular that it would go to sealed bids. Within two days there had been eighteen viewings and numerous offers. My clients and I ended up being one of seven formal offers that were submitted as part of the sealed bids process and while my clients were successful, the top three offers were all within
£5,000. One of the other deciding factors that swung it in my client’s favour was that there was a buyer’s agent representing them, as estate agents and sellers know that those paying for our services are serious, committed buyers. We also act as a voice of reason when issues arise during the complex conveyancing process, which inevitably they do. The lack of available properties, and the market being considered very much a ‘sellers’ market’, has led to a rise in the number of discreetly marketed properties, (commonly called “OffMarket”). Using a buying agent helps clients to at least be first through the door of properties that are about to be launched to the market - giving them an advantageous head start!
If you have any property related questions or need help with buying a property in the UK, please feel free to contact me on +44 (0) 207 998 3504 or ben@riverapropertyconsultants.com
*Office of National Statistics ** LonRes
