2021 Review
January 2021
From Jan 1st Free movement of people and goods stopped between UK and the EU.The process described as BREXIT finally landed.
As nobody was working due to COVID lockdown from Boxing Day, hardly anybody noticed.
Office Still Closed. Hoppers still selling houses.
Feb - 2021 Office Still Closed. Hoppers still selling houses.
Mar - 2021 Office Still Closed. Hoppers still selling houses.
April - 2021 Office Still Closed. Hoppers still selling houses.
May - 2021 Country opening up as fans return to football matches etc. Property market blooming as low stock and high demand means prices are moving well above the Home Report valuations.
Hoppers office tenantively reopens after nearly 15 months working from home and remotely. CFM was back! Control Freak Mari.
June - 2021 The selling market is ramping up as the stock levels increase slightly. Still not enough to prevent it being a sellers market as prices continue to succum to upward pressure.
July - 2021 Influx of buyers from elsewhere in Scotland, especially Glasgow, as the realisation that you can work from home in Prestwick and enjoy all the benfits of living by the coast while still being within half an hour commute of Glagow become clear. And as they often sell for a higher price, are cash rich and can again offer much higher than the Home Report. A difficult market for first time buyers.
Coming soon, the second half of 2021. Babies arrive, Storks overworked.Hoppers Run out of Sold banners for our for sale signs.
One major constant throughout,
Hoppers still the number one choice for house selling in Prestwick-
You might also be interested in
The Housing Market was in need of correction.
Why predictions of the housing market downturn do not herald the harbinger of doom. High prices, and in particular, properties achieving well over their (Home Report) value, have been pricing out First Time Buyers and local people from buying in their local market. The high prices we were achieving in the summer of 2022 were unsustainable, in some cases, shockingly extreme, and rising far quicker than earnings. The housing markets rise and fall over time and a downward cycle is merely a correction to the previous high. People who remember the crash of 2008 and fear a repeat should be aware that the banks are liquid now and eager to lend mortgages compared to their inability to do so back then. Higher interest rates are a fright to many, but it should be noted that they have been held at a historical low for over ten years. Our office in Prestwick has been complaining all summer that we have rarely sold a home to a local buyer as interlopers from all over the country and beyond have been cash rich and have been moving into the area in their droves to the detriment of locals wishing to move or get on the property ladder. For sellers, there may be a wistful sigh when they see what their neighbours' homes achieved in 2021 and 2022 but if you are selling and buying in the same market, then there are benefits. Please see our previous post and video for more details. (Should I stay or should I go?) If you are looking for some tips for selling your home, then click here to access the selling information and FAQs areas of our website. Lower house prices should mean that first-time buyers will be able to return to the buyer’s market and also the likelihood that the survey value on the Home Report will become the maximum that most people will offer means you won’t require an inordinate amount of excess cash to buy the house in the first place. So the fact that house prices may go down in 2023, remember that they rose by an extraordinary amount in the last two years and that any reduction is merely a correction.
Anti inflation measure versus mortgage rates.
The Bank of England has announced an increase of 0.25% to its Base Rate this month. This is its 11th consecutive rise, pushing interest rates to 4.25%, the highest they’ve been for 14 years. The move is designed to curtail inflation which has impacted everyone. By coincidence, Nationwide announced a reduction in the interest rates on several of their mortgage products on the same day. Then, on 15 March, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt presented his Spring Budget and said that he expected inflation to fall back to 2.9% by the end of the year. The markets received this as a positive sign and indicated that interest rates had either peaked already or were about to peak. Prestwick Market Update The uncertainty regarding mortgage rates has had little effect on the Prestwick housing market which has been very busy in March. Despite predictions of a housing collapse being on the horizon, nearly all recently listed properties have been sold in a rapid manner with many of them achieving more than the Home Report valuation. As we expected, increased costs across the board have helped to limit the offers over the HR valuations in a lot of cases compared to the giddy heights of last spring. However, the impact has not been as expected and many properties, depending on their competitiveness and location are still seeing substantial premiums over HR. First Time Buyers are beginning to see some encouragement in eyeing entry-level properties where they can get involved and where the premium is not as marked as the prestigious bungalow market. That includes Flats where the market is also strong, especially two bedrooms on the ground floor. In short, the market is lively at present, and while some of the press are determined to make you feel that the crash is just around the corner, the levels of activity at present are healthy and government predictions for the economy at large bode well for a stable housing market. If you would like to read what Rightmove think about the impact on mortgage rates, click here