For H&H Land & Estates 2021 is a year of demand for property outweighing supply and overall prices achieved up by over 15%.
With over 111 million pounds worth of property traded in 2021, in rounding up the year, H&H Land & Estates, one of the North of England’s leading independent property agencies, reports that there has been a huge surge in demand for all types of property and a shortage of supply.
“Anything that is coming onto the market is selling quickly with demand very much outstripping supply.” Commented Kate Patrick, Head of Estate Agency. “Even now as we come into the festive season, historically a quiet time of year, business is still extremely brisk.”
Throughout the year demand has been strong, certainly helped by the fact that until June, people could purchase a property up to the value of half a million, reducing to £250,000 between July and September, without paying any stamp duty. This led to a great rush to conclude sales before the two deadlines. However, even after the end of September when stamp duty returned to normal levels, demand has continued to be high.
“What we are finding now,” says Kate, “is that Covid seems to have inspired people to appreciate the necessity of space, both to work from home and green space in which to enjoy the outdoors. There is very little coming to market across the whole industry and so anything that does come up is hugely sought after. On average we would expect five or six viewers for each property, now we can expect around three times this amount.
“For example, we recently put a bungalow on the market for £225,000 and it had 40 viewings, both in person and virtually, and sold for 45% over the asking price. Currently bungalows are particularly popular and are selling extremely well, as they are so few and far between. They are also in demand from those looking to downsize once their family have grown up and left the nest.”
Covid has also accelerated both the desire and ability to work from home, and home no longer needs to be next to the office. With house and land prices traditionally lower in the north of England, there has been a surge from southern buyers attracted by the beauty and affordability of the northern property market.
Overall property prices have increased by more than 15% and there are no signs of this changing in the short term. This is perhaps not surprising, given that the Lake District is one of the major tourist destinations in the UK.
“Of all our offices, from Carlisle in the north to Kendal in the south have been the most spectacularly busy” comments Kate. “Our aim is always to do the best for our clients. We are there to advise and to ensure their property is correctly marketed, seen by the most potential purchasers and sell for the best price. We advise not to necessarily accept first offers, but to allow time for the right level to be achieved.
Across all five of our estate agency branches, we have achieved an average of 99.7% of asking price on properties sold since January ’21. I believe this is down to the fact that our experienced local valuers know their markets and our sales negotiators are able to close the best deal.
So, what will 2022 bring? Without a crystal ball no-one can be certain, but currently there is no sign of a decrease in demand, indeed the reverse is true. Of course, interest rates may rise, particularly if inflation becomes endemic, but the fact remains there is still a great deal of interest, particularly for the larger properties and estates.
“We can never be sure what the future will hold, but whatever happens, H&H Land & Estates will be here to look after its clients and staff” assures Kate. I am very fortunate to work with a group of such dedicated and motivated people. With their expertise we have been able to support our customers through a period of extreme highs and lows. I would like to thank both clients and staff for all their help and loyalty throughout this challenging year and wish everyone a Very Happy Christmas - let’s hope that 2022 turns out well for us all.