Change in the air…market news from our director
Our director, Dan O’Brien, shares what we’ve been up to and some market analysis for those looking to buy or sell in this year….
Firstly, a huge welcome to all our new subscribers. Our aim going forward is to provide you with a monthly update on the housing market, while also sharing some stories and anecdotes of what we’ve been up to.
Since my arrival at the start of May, we have been busy continuing and evolving the great work crafted by Aucoot’s founder, John McDavid. The welcome my team and I received was wonderful, and it’s been so great to see us invited into so many houses over the past few months to discuss how we can help form their strategy to sell.
In the short time I have been here, we have seen and launched a number of beautiful homes across London and the South-East. While market conditions during this period haven’t necessarily been considered favourable, sentiment has been steadily improving and when well-crafted homes come to the market –no matter the economic conditions – there is always pent-up demand from those looking for something truly unique.
Having worked at the forefront of the industry for 22 years, I have learnt to naturally predict changes to the market, and I sense one is upon us. The election result will bring with it much-needed change politically and economically. While there is still a cloud over Labour’s long-term plans for property taxes, buyers and sellers will see the change of government as a long-awaited opportunity to buy in more politically stable times.
To compound this, many are also predicting that we will soon see the first base drop from the Bank of England since it was set at 5.25% back in August ’23. This creates the perfect conditions for change, and from experience, I now expect the autumn market to come early and market activity to pick up exponentially during the next few months.
It could be said that this trend has already started. The number of new listings and sales agreed between the election being announced and taking place were both higher than the six-year average. Even with mortgage rates significantly higher than previous years, the first six months of 2024 saw 6% more sales agreed than the six-year average and interestingly, at the point of sale agreed, prices were on average 2% higher.
If this prediction of a post-election surge is correct, further positive sentiment will reenact market conditions, reminiscent of September ’21. Buyers will be competing for new listings and the lack of supply will have an overbearing effect on the housing market. My advice for anyone looking to buy is do so now. There is plenty of choice out there, whether you want to add value to a home or find something that is truly ‘Aucoot’.
As for sellers – depending on your house type – our advice differs. We have found that houses we represent tend to yield a premium due to their individuality and design integrity. This means you may be working with a smaller selection of buyers, but those you are attracting understand value sits in more than £s per square foot, and are willing to pay for the love and attention to detail that’s been applied. If you own a home like this, there really is no reason to wait. Four of our June listings sold over the guide price on the launch weekend, showing that there are keen and serious buyers out there now.
Finding a buyer before the market heats up, also allows you to be in a strong position and properly compete for homes when they hit the market. One thing’s for sure, when the London market is at its hottest, very few properties are sold to buyers that aren’t fully proceedable and its commonplace that only fully proceedable buyers are able to arrange viewings on the most desirable listings.
I hope you all got the chance to read our latest Journal post where we celebrated the new era of Aucoot with friends old and new. I just wanted to extend a huge thank you to everyone that’s supported us so far. I hope you can see we’re on an exciting journey and I can’t wait to share more news soon about our evolving team and plans for the property market.
If you’re interested in exploring your selling options, you can reach me directly via [email protected]
Source: Behind the Gates
