In June we wrote an article about our predictions of what will happen to the housing market over the next few months. To catch-up on our last blog click here>
With a hot market driven by many factors earlier in the year, we were seeing quick sales and a lack of new stock coming on to the market. As a business, we anticipated that, as more people became vaccinated, they would have more confidence in holidaying and place less focus on the importance of their home. With this, more people would gradually move back to their offices and for people who have moved out of cities to remote areas there will be a gradual exodus back after then have second thoughts, particularly about the realistic ways of living in remote areas. The novelty of taking the kids to and from school each day, socialising at country pubs and travelling to do the foodshop would be short lived.
The Sunday Times [i] this month reports exactly this, with pandemic property purchasers frantically searching for tarmacked civilisation. But as they look to move back into cities, premium prices and a return to normal levels of stamp duty, will have a financial impact on this reverse. We’re noticing more and more families looking for a version of their old lives, and the convenience of living in a city or suburbia. Families who made an impulsive move to a rambling country home are now finding themselves having to put money into the refurbishments they thought they would do over several years of rural living. Finding themselves now in a position of wanting to bring their new home to market, the repairs need to be completed quickly. Building contractors in the countryside are rarer than the proverbial hen’s teeth.
The Omicron wave of the pandemic may slow the move back to city living and the most recent return to the work from home directive will certainly mean that the businesses won’t be able to insist that teams meet regularly in real life just yet. It may even be that a few more, more cautious buyers, will decide over the Christmas break that their longed-for move to the country is viable while the covid situation continues with no apparent end point. We imagine that in the premium rural property market in 2022 there will be sellers looking for a return to a more connected living and also buyers looking to make their escape to the country. Good housing stock will continue to be in short supply and buyers can expect to pick up the bill for doing some of the renovations that the first wave of buyers simply haven’t had time to do. We are looking forward to interesting times ahead!
If you are in the situation of needing to maximise your sale after and impulsive purchase at the top of the market, we can help. We can get anything from decorating to roof repairs done and can, of course, make your home look amazing as it hits the market to ensure you don’t lose out in your move. Please get in touch by calling us on 01332 987740 or emailing [email protected].
[i] Alexandra Goss and Jayne Dowle, The Times – Why I regret my pandemic property purchase
