Reasons to be cheerful – yes, really!

“We are enjoying a welcome degree of stability in the market with increased levels of activity, even though we are at the tail end of the year,” Alan reports.

“November saw an increase in the number of enquiries and amount of activity among potential buyers, both in our experience and according to Rightmove’s latest national figures. In addition, the Hometrack graph of asking prices to prices achieved shows a steadying trend and a slight rise in the South East and London across the whole of the last year. This is a gratifying endorsement of reputable agents’ continuing strategy to ensure realistic pricing.

“More encouraging still is the news that there was a 9.2% upturn in mortgage approvals in the last quarter, and hopefully that, together with falling unemployment and increasing bank liquidity, will make conditions a good deal more favourable for all buyers and mortgage seekers in the market. I am hopeful that this will consolidate in the new year, and we will see the first period since 2008 when younger people will feel confident enough to contemplate buying a property as opposed to renting.

“On the subject of renting, this has been an outstanding period for our lettings department. With the exception of larger properties which take a little longer, houses and flats taken onto our books are let practically before we can advertise them. Our centralised lettings management department, overseeing everything from contracts to maintenance, has been working tirelessly to ensure top quality service for both landlords and tenants.

“If I had one wish for 2013, it would be that after the Christmas lull, we see more properties coming to the market to boost activity and choice. Should this happen, there is no doubt we will see the first shoots of an improving market in the spring.”

Alan Williams, Managing Partner
December 2012