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Demand levels and sales activity remain buoyant in the UK housing market. Rightmove report agreed sales were up 50% in October, with properties selling (sold SSTC), in just 49 days, 15 days faster than a year ago.
Buyer demand across England was 49% higher year-on-year during the first six days of Lockdown 2.
The market is currently strongest in the higher price brackets. Year-on-year has been a 106% uplift in sales priced £400,000–£500,000 compared to just 16% for those priced £100,000–£200,000
Activity levels are also higher in the regions where average property prices are the highest, buyers set to make bigger stamp duty savings in these locations.
Source: Dataloft, Rightmove (October 2020 v October 2019)
Taylor Hill & Bond’s newest branch in Havant town centre is now open for business! Occupying a prominent location directly on the high street just a short walk from the train station this new branch has launched with an exciting team of experienced property professionals who are ready to deliver an exceptional service for local buyers and sellers.
The Havant branch further strengthens Taylor Hill & Bond’s offering in the east of Hampshire and is headed up by Neil Fowler the Branch Manager who has in excess of 20 years experience working within the property industry and has become renowned in the local area for delivering a customer focused and highly professional service. Further complimenting the team is our Senior Negotiator Robin Hercock who is a real customer favourite and can always be seen to go the extra mile for his clients. Accompanying Robin in the sales team is Harry Beggs; a new addition to the team who is already making a positive impact with his energy, enthusiasm and customer focused approach.
We are looking forward to seeing the branch grow over the coming weeks and would welcome any local clients to contact the team directly for any property related support that they can provide and can call them directly on 02392 482147.
With stats showing strong house price growth we are advising our clients that the market is positive and that if they are considering selling now there are good reasons to proceed despite the issues the country is facing due to the pandemic.
An estimated 98,010 transaction completed in September marking a return to pre-covid levels. With a surge in buyer demand and newly agreed sales this summer, we expect to see an increase in transactions over the next few months.
Newly agreed sales in the three months to September were 53% higher than the same time last year. On average it takes 123 days from agreed sale to exchange, therefore current transactions will only represent a small proportion of the surge in newly agreed sales.
Increased demand has put pressure on solicitors, mortgage lenders and surveyors and therefore delays in exchange are inevitable, likely to be reflected in transaction figures.
With just over 22 weeks of the stamp duty holiday left, buyers should get a move on if they want to take advantage of stamp duty savings of up to £15,000.
If you have been considering selling and would like to discuss things further please feel free to contact us for an initial conversation:
Source: HMRC, TwentyCi, Conveyancing Association
People have spent an increased amount of time at home this year encouraging home improvements. Builders have seen a 47% increase in their workload this summer and online planning applications have increased by 20%.
On average, UK homeowners spend £48 billion a year doing up their homes. With a surge in people moving homes, online planning applications and builder demand, the 2020 spend may be higher.
According to NAEA the top 10 home improvements to increase the value of your home are; redecorating, kitchen makeover, adding or updating bathrooms, garden appeal, double glazing, open plan space, new doors, loft conversions, creating a driveway and avoiding over personalisation.
The top five common projects this year have been, extensions (74%), porches (9%), loft conversions (7%), conservatories (7%) and out buildings (3%). We suspect the need for a home office is behind many of these applications.
If you have recently undertaken home improvements and would like to know the value it has added to your property or if you are considering embarking on improvements but would like our expert advice about what will be most effective please click below to book a free valuation:
Source: Dataloft, Planning Portal, NAEA
With just under 26 weeks of the stamp duty holiday left, even with homes selling 31% faster than before lockdown, sellers only have 10 weeks to list their properties if they want to complete in time.
According to The Advisory, the average time to sell a property, from first day of marketing to completion, is on average 18 weeks and in a hot market, like today, it can take on average 16 weeks.
Buyer demand in August was 39% above the same time last year and mortgage approvals saw a 29% annual increase, indicating that there are plenty of buyers out there.
Although 31st March 2021 seems a long way away, vendors need to consider the time scales of selling homes and act now.
Taylor Hill & Bond’s new branch in Andover town centre is now open for business! Occupying a prominent location directly on the high street the new branch has launched with a combination of existing Taylor Hill & Bond staff as well as exciting new hires who are ready to offer their expert help, support and guidance to local residents with their property selling and letting needs.
The Andover branch further strengthens Taylor Hill & Bond’s offering in the west and will compliment our existing branch in the market town of Romsey.
The Andover team has already secured an exciting new homes contract representing Foreman Homes the established regional developer with their new development The Nightingales which is an exclusive new development in Picket Piece, Andover – a mostly residential suburb located less than three miles east of Andover’s town centre.
Please feel free to contact the team directly on: 01264 314419.
There has been a huge surge of consumer interest in the housing market since May 13th, according to the Dataloft Demand Index.
In the week that lockdown was lifted, the Index climbed by 30%. By the end of May, it was 71% higher than a month earlier.
The Dataloft Demand Index suggests a strong start to the post-lockdown market, with agents’ sites receiving plenty of attention from prospective home movers.
The Index tracks the number of visits to agent’s local insight pages displaying the Dataloft Inform widget, making it a valuable indicator of potential demand.
Email inform@dataloft.co.uk to find out how to install the widget on your website. Read more in the blog ‘What is the Dataloft Demand Index?’ in ‘View from the loft’.