Newark and Southwell independent estate agent, Alasdair Morrison looks at what the property market might have in store for 2019.
He says:
“The media would have us believe that the property market is nursing a New Year’s party hangover. Certainly the issues that influenced the market during 2018 remain, such as Brexit-related confusion, lack of supply and affordability problems for first time buyers. And whilst the media does love to scaremonger, they tend to ignore, theperhaps rather boring reality, that the UK property market is actually surprisingly resilient, as my experience over the last 35 years has taught me.
“Property has always been generally low-risk and any annual capital appreciation over 3% can be regarded as a bonus. For most people, property is a home more than an investment - albeit a tax-efficient one. Most homeowners are quite satisfied if the value of their property more or less keeps up with or exceeds inflation, which, even over the turbulent year of 2018, it has. The latest ONS figures suggest that the average UK house price has risen by 2.7% over the last year, compared with inflation of around 2.2% per annum.
“But what’s in store for 2019? As far as we’re concerned in Newark and Southwell, it’s very much business as usual and we’d even go so far as to say that all forecasts that quote projected figures can be ignored, as even the so-called ‘Brexit experts’ cannot agree – nobody knows what will happen with the Brexit mess, let alone any effect on the property market.
"Just look at the spread of recent 2019 house price forecasts from the following authorities, who are no better informed over the outcome of Brexit than the man down the pub:
Alasdair continues:
“History tells us that it is confidence levels that tend to exert the greatest influence on supply, demand and prices in the property sector. If the confusion over the past 18 months has not had a significantly detrimental effect on the housing market, then this surely proves that the market is reassuringly robust, and buyers and sellers alike need not worry about making a wrong move, as the market is unlikely to either rocket or crash.
“Perhaps of more interest to home-movers over the past year has been the failure of internet-only estate agencies, with around a third of the top names no longer trading.
“According to Which?,over 92% of sellers prefer to use a ‘traditional’ high street estate agent than any online alternative. The lure of apparently cheap fees turns out to be a classic false economy, not least because these low-value agencies have no incentive to proactively sell a property for the highest price, plus their fees are payable whether your house sells or not!
“Additionally, in a low-volume housing market, chain management becomes paramount and it seems somewhat ridiculous that sellers should entrust the sale of their greatest asset to a DIY platform. It seems that most people are finally realising that selling that it’s not just about finding a buyer, but is in fact about the managing the whole sale process from beginning to end.”
Alasdair finishes:
“Here at Alasdair Morrison & Partners Estate Agents, we are very much looking forward to the year ahead. We thrive on challenge and delivering creative, results-driven, solutions for local home movers in Newark and Southwell.
“A final word of caution though; this year,if you’re thinking of moving, don’t wait until the spring, as you may find yourself competing with too many other sellers jumping on the bandwagon, thereby suppressing prices. Just a thought - and please feel free to call us for our personal attention and an accountable service on either 01636 700888 or 01636 813977.”
