“Don’t bet against London”
As Brexit continues to dominate the headlines, it’s understandably difficult to grasp exactly what is going on and whether the property market is destined for a further fall in prices.
You can select which headlines you wish to read of course but from our viewpoint, a number of things are happening:
In general, with such low carrying costs, vendors are not willing to accept any offer that is submitted by opportunistic buyers. The best quality properties continue to achieve a strong price and if no offer is forthcoming, the price won’t necessarily be reduced.
Instead, the vendor will revert to a long term hold strategy until they perceive the market can sustain the value they attribute to their most prized asset.
We have seen a number of vendors in recent weeks doing exactly this and the result is simple. Supply lessens and the number of properties for sale is restricted. Buyers become more determined which in turn means that demand increases and prices start to creep up again.
Conversely, the market often recovers from the top down and we have seen several £10m+ sales taking place in recent months (including one at a reported £95m). Having spent many years working in the market, we have witnessed this cycle before and we would suggest this time will be no different.
Our advice;
For buyers, it can pay to take a leap of faith and don’t be afraid of paying a sensible price to acquire the right property. For vendors, listen to the advice of well-placed and experienced agents and work together to achieve your goals.
