Market Round up

The inclement weather in the first half of 2024 was a major delaying factor in the spring market taking off, and it was not until late April that we really saw significant activity, with properties coming to the open market and good viewing numbers. Buyers were readily competing for the best houses  and we agreed numerous deals over a frenetic period before the country went to the polls.

With the likely outcome of the election written in the wind, this activity continued for a while, but it was the end of the summer holidays that signalled a change in the mainstream market. By this stage, we had the new Labour government in place and everyone was trying to understand what changes might be implemented and how these could generally impact the property market. Unfortunately, comments in the press about the “painful budget” that was to be delivered in late October meant that many buyers and sellers decided to sit on the sidelines well in advance. Autumn was therefore quieter than we had hoped, but we still continued to agree plenty of sales.

When it eventually came, the budget delivered an immediate increase in second home stamp duty from 3 – 5%. We have found that since the post-covid boom, second home buying has been subdued anyway, and time will tell whether such a move will dramatically affect our local market. There is also going to be the dropping of the stamp duty relief for first time buyers and a general lowering of the threshold, which is likely to cause a flurry of activity at the bottom end to beat the 1 April deadline.

We hope for healthy levels of demand from good quality buyers in 2025. The outlook for the market and pricing will ultimately depend on how the economy performs and what happens to interest / borrowing rates, but we are looking forward to a better air of confidence to prevail rather than uncertainty, and expect the market and availability of stock to gather momentum throughout the year.