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Michael Johnson's New Year Market Update

Posted on Sunday, December 23, 2018

Updated on Sunday, December 23, 2018

As we enter 2019 there are many things of which we are currently uncertain and, in particular, the outcome of our Brexit plans. There are still a number of permutations ad the clock is ticking inexorably towards the 29th March, the date at which we should either be in or out of the EU with, or without, some form of deal.

Clearly this situation is causing uncertainty across all markets and the property market is no exception.

One things about the property market is, that despite the Brexit scenario, there are a few fundamentals that will ensure that transactions continue in 2019 and beyond at reasonable levels.

  • Demand generally exceeds supply and household numbers are growing
  • There is an underlying culture of home ownership in the UK
  • Owner occupier home purchase is a medium to long term proposition not made for short term gain
  • The private rental sector also generally has more demand than supply and with the costs of entry and exit from the owner occupier market and growing desire for flexibility, it is now the tenure of choice for many

Of course transactional volumes and values will ebb and flow but there is always a significant number of people who have to transact every year.

Changes in personal circumstances such as death, divorce, growing families, an ageing population, job moves, redundancies, promotion, retirement are key drivers of people moving.

Debt is another but much less of an issue today after a decade of low interest rates than it has been in the past.

Discretion is the one factor where we are currently seeing exercise greater caution. Those who would like to move but don’t have to move are perhaps in shorter supply at the moment but this will create greater pent up demand when the dust settles and greater confidence returns.

Our view is that now ill prove to have been a good time to move and that, if you are selling as well as buying, any variances in price are much less relevant – in fact if you are moving up market, any downward pressure on price actually makes the gap between selling and buying smaller and more attractive.

We see 2019 as a year where the motivated can get the move they want and good professional advice on pricing and marketing will help both sellers and landlords maximise their transactional values.

We very much look forward to being of service to you and wish you a happy, healthy and successful new year

Yours

 

Michael Johnson