Well with a quarter of the year gone already, neither Marion nor I could have predicted the amazing amount of activity which we have seen in recent weeks. Having not been in the High Street office this time last year, I didn’t have any previous statistics to look back on, and therefore had no idea what to expect from the Spring season. However, it appears that the milder weather has definitely had a positive impact on the housing market and the amount of sales we have agreed so far has well exceeded my expectations! With everything from a 2 bedroom terrace property in Gnosall to a 4 bedroom detached house in Newport being sold*, the only real common denominators are that the vendors have all been realistic about the prices they have accepted and have done their very best to present their properties as well as they possibly can.
In addition to the meteorological climate becoming warmer, the financial one also seems to be improving with the number of mortgage products available with a 10% deposit being up a third on March 2011. Nationally, new sales listings are down 9% in comparison with last year, and with less properties coming on to the market and a growing confidence amongst cash rich investors, demand is increasing. Ultimately increased demand for property is likely to lead to prices rising, so watch this space…!
On the rental side of the business, demand is definitely still high and the average time it takes for us to find suitable tenants is just over a week. At the time of writing, we have no available rental properties whatsoever, but yet a steady stream of prospect tenants coming in and registering their requirements, so if you are considering letting a property please feel free to pop in to the office or ring up to discuss your requirements.
In order to help you all get moving after you’ve eaten copious amounts of chocolate eggs (or is that just me?!) Barker Healey Property would like to offer the first three people who request a valuation and subsequently go on to instruct us to market your property for sale, the amazingly low fee of 0.85%. With a no sale, no fee arrangement and no VAT payable on any of our fees, we can guarantee to save you money!
For more information, call Louise or Marion at Barker Healey Property on 01952 813625 / 07990534562.
* subject to contract