NOVA NEWS EDITORIAL 09 SEPTEMBER 2021

Last month I referred to how difficult it is for selling agents to get asking prices and valuations right. This is borne out in the most recent Housing Report from Propertymark which shows that demand for property continued to outstrip supply during June. Agents were reporting that 44% of properties sold during the month at figures in excess of the asking price. There has been, as the majority of readers will be aware, a bit of a slowing down in the sales market since then with the housing market cooling down as Stamp Duty holidays become less achievable to buyers.

There is of course a short term benefit in financial saving with the holiday in place, however, even when this is no longer available there will always be buyers who need to move and the market will gradually return to normal within a few months. There may well continue to be a shortage of supply for a while as many sellers bought forward their moves to benefit from the saving on their purchase of a new home.

The hot weather and school holidays will have further contributed to a reduced availability of property. A chance to get away will be high on the agenda for many, you only have to listen to traffic reports on the radio to hear of the number of cars on the roads. Hopefully hospitality businesses in tourist areas will be able to reap the rewards. Once schools return and the summer holidays are over the availability of property may increase a little but I consider it unlikely that we will get a big influx of established homes on to the open market therefore supply may well fall short of the demand from buyers for a good while yet.

If you require any assistance with a boundary issue, preparation of Land Registry compliant plans for land transfer, property valuations or Domestic Energy Certificates or other property related matters please give me a ring to discuss your needs.

I hope you enjoy the late summer weather, let us hope that September is as pleasant as it generally is.