Welcome to spring and with the first quarter of the year under our belts now is the time to see how the local property market is performing.
Sales & Lettings Market Update, Spring 2018
Jun 2018
Blakestanley gets Greener – 60% reduction of it's car fleet, replaced by bicycles!
Residential Sales Property Market
What happened in the first quarter?
The good news is if you are thinking of selling your home, we are seeing lots more prospective purchasers walk through our door than at any time since the Brexit vote! Purchasers have become ‘certain of the uncertainty’ caused by the Brexit process and after seeing a minimal drop in the value of property during this time confidence has been restored.
And if you’re a prospective purchaser there’s good news too. In the last six months we’ve seen asking prices stabilise following the 18 month period after the Brexit vote in which bullish agents continued to value property as if values were increasing.
Our thoughts on 2018
The local market has certainly stabilised since Brexit which has made getting the price point correct of a property more important than ever. If a property is perceived as overpriced by the market it will struggle to stimulate viewings, where as a property priced realistically will generate good levels of interest and we are confident of securing a sale within four weeks!
Through experience we have learnt that media reports run on average 6-12months behind on the reporting of property market trends. So whilst the media may be recording a 3% drop and lower applicant levels, this isn’t something we are experiencing in 2018.
The market historically
The local market reached its previous height in 2007 before dropping in 2008/9. In 2010 the market started to recover and values had increased to equal the peak of 2007, by the second half of 2011. Property values then continued to rise until 2016 where we have seen prices stabilise.
Yearly price movement
2007 +10% 2008 -6% 2009 -7%
2010 +4% 2011 +11% 2012 +9%
2013 +19% 2014 +9% 2015 +9%
2016 0% 2017 -3% 2018 Q1 0%
Residential Lettings Property Market
What happened in the first quarter?
The start of the year looked bleak (and that wasn’t just the weather!). However like Spring the rental market is coming into bloom and like the bees we are busy once more registering new applicants and helping landlords to achieve their rental income targets.
After a period of fluctuating rental incomes, we’re pleased to say that rents have remained static in the first quarter of 2018. Through effective management we’ve reduced the average vacancy period to just under two weeks. Plus with our thorough vetting of tenants the quality has improved and the average tenancy length is now two to three years.
For more detailed information please call for a chat.
Our thoughts on 2018
Taking into account the rise in rental values over the last 10 years, we see values continuing to remain at a static level for the remainder of 2018. Hackney has gone through a huge amount of residential development over the last three years, with much coming to fruition in 2018. This means we are likely to see an increase in available property which will impact the supply/demand balance, hence keeping values on an even keel for 2018. Lower Clapton appears to be bucking the trend somewhat and is fast becoming the place to move to from E2/E8 as it represents good value for money with rental prices around 15% lower.
If you are a landlord, please consider:
1. There are many changes to your tax liability as a private landlord. Please see www.gov.uk and search ‘tax relief for landlords’ or consult an accountant/tax advisor.
2. Energy efficiency regulations are changing. All privately rented property will need to have a minimum rating of E (noted on your Energy Performance Certificate), or the landlord could be faced with a £4,000 fine. Please call us for any assistance on this matter.
3. Coming in for 2019 there will be a ban on agents fees for tenants. BlakeStanley will not be passing on the cost of referencing and administration to our clients, which we expect other agents will do.
4. Licensing for landlords – many UK councils have implemented various licensing regulations for landlords and it is viewed as only a matter of time before these are universally adopted, holding either the managing agent accountable, or a private landlord should an agent not be managing the property.
Yearly price movement
2011 +7% 2012 +6.5% 2013 +8.5%
2014 +3.5% 2015 +3% 2016 0%
2017 -7% 2018 Q1 0%