Property market “shows no signs of slowing”
“The last 12 months have been exceptionally busy in the property market with serious buyers still out in force,” says Gareth Overton, Head of Residential Sales at Henry Adams, “and the market shows no signs of slowing.”
The pandemic has prompted many people to reevaluate their lifestyles and what they want from their home. As a result, there has been a huge increase in enquiries from people looking to move to the countryside and the coast.
“As well as lots of people moving locally this Spring, we’ve also had numerous enquiries from people hoping to move out of Surrey and South London for more outside space, room to work from home, or to downsize closer to the coast.
“Now that working from home is increasingly common and is likely to remain in some form, people are broadening their search area for their next home,” says Gareth. “Longer commuting times are more bearable if it’s only a couple of times a week rather than a daily journey into London, so counties within an hour and a half of the capitol, which includes most of West Sussex and Hampshire where our offices are based, have been particularly appealing to buyers.”
Henry Adams has also invested heavily in their Rightmove presence which in the last year resulted in more than 37 million views for the properties they are marketing.
“This certainly impacted on how busy our offices have been,” Gareth adds. “It’s also meant that we’ve achieved strong sale prices for our clients. Many sales have been agreed at asking price or above. In some cases, the final sales price is significantly higher due to multiple offers being received.”
At Henry Adams’s Middleton on Sea branch, Richard Longhurst and his team have achieved above asking price on over 40% of sales so far this year.
All types of homes have seen increased demand from buyers although period properties in good locations are always close to the top of many wish lists. At the higher end of the market, Henry Adams reports that the market for country houses is noticeably more buoyant than it’s been for some time, particularly in Chichester, Petersfield and Storrington.
“While we understand that strong competition for homes can be very frustrating for buyers, the foundations of the property market remain strong,” concludes Gareth.
“Even with the reduction of the stamp duty holiday, underlying demand is such that we expect this market to continue for the foreseeable future so this is an excellent time for sellers wanting to take advantage of strong demand from motivated buyers and to achieve the best value for their property.”
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