Sandra Davidson’s Azeem Salemohamed looks at May’s sales data for east London as the stamp duty holiday deadline looms.
There’s good news this month if you’re looking to move in east London. The market is still enjoying a fantastic upsurge, reflected in what we’re reading in the media. Property portal Zoopla’s latest market report puts house prices at 4.1% higher than a year ago – an extraordinary figure, given that the economy is recovering from the impact of the pandemic and a severe, double-dip recession.
Such optimism is born out in the latest Rightmove figures for our patch. In May 2020 the housing market was still in the middle of complete lockdown. While many vendors had pulled out, there were 1,100 properties for sale in our area – a third less than the 1,566 in 2021. There were 118 new listings in May last year. In contrast, last month saw 392 new listings in our patch, as vendors responded to the unprecedented demand generated by the stamp duty holiday.
Naturally, sales agreed were low at 65 this time last year, compared to 289 this year. However, May 2020 saw prospective movers getting ready for the markets to restart. There were 1.4 million detailed property views here a year ago. The current figure is 1.89 million.
If the property industry of spring 2020 was a bit doom and gloom, the feeling this year continues to be one of anticipation. Current media analysis moves from fears of an approaching ’cliff edge’ in terms of house prices to hopes that the chancellor could maintain stamp duty rates at their current levels.
Buying and selling at the same time?
Here are 10 things that could go wrong, and often do go wrong, and what, if anything, you can do to avoid them.
Buying and selling at the same time?
Here are 10 things that could go wrong, and often do go wrong, and what, if anything, you can do to avoid them.
But in spite of the uncertainty, now is a great time to put your property on the market. While we don’t know what is about to happen, vendors are still cashing in on the extension of the stamp duty holiday. Over the past weeks, first time buyers, with a prospect of completing before the deadline, have been hungrily pursing chain-free properties with vacant possession.
But even if you’re a vendor looking to move up the housing ladder, getting on the market before the end of the holiday means you can capitalise on existing demand. Buyers are already factoring in stamp duty to their offers. Putting your property on sale now, means you can test the market and be in a strong position. If you have a sale agreed you’ll be much more confident in your own offers and your chain is likely to be a lot stronger.
Longer term we don’t know what is going to happen with the markets. But if you’ve decided it’s time to sell, talk to us. By taking into account market factors, we’ll give you the best advice for maximising your property’s exposure and generating the interest that in turn generates offers.
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