Has there ever been a better time for home sellers?

THE Newbury property market, for people looking to sell, is at its sturdiest for at least the last five years, with home buyers jumping on to the property ladder with abandon.

House prices are anticipated to rise throughout 2021 after the Stamp Duty cut (and subsequent extension until the summer/autumn) and the newly revealed 95-per-cent mortgages for first-time buyers (and homeowners with minimal equity). In addition, the continued low interest rates, and the demand for larger homes because of lockdown, means the property market should remain bullish for a while.

There is a surge in potential buyers putting themselves on mailing lists with Newbury estate agents, making the biggest disparity between supply and demand for property for many years. Fears of a cliff edge for the housing market at the end of March have dispersed, somewhat due to the Stamp Duty tax deadline extensions, but also because the elevated level of buyer demand caused by the three lockdowns has continued to swell since the start of 2021.

That means that today 59 per cent of Newbury properties on the market are sold (STC). Interesting, when utilising data from theadvisory.co.uk website, the Newbury average for the last five years has only been 43 per cent, meaning there has been an uplift of 38.4 per cent in the proportion of properties sold (STC) compared to that five-year average.

Yet what can’t be forgotten is that nine out of 20 house sellers are also house buyers as well, so while they do indeed achieve a higher price for their property, they also have to pay more for the property they want to buy.

So, how much will Newbury house prices rise by? Like all things in life, it’s all about demand and supply.

I have discussed the demand, yet what about the supply of properties for sale?

There are 10 per cent fewer Newbury properties for sale today compared to two years ago

While February saw a lower than normal level of new properties coming onto to the Newbury property market, the easing of lockdown road map and faster rollout of the vaccine is also persuading more homeowners (especially those older homeowners who have had their jabs) to start making the first steps towards moving home in 2021.

This will mean there will be more properties available for sale in the conventionally busier postEaster market in the coming weeks and months which should cause more equilibrium and help keep property prices in check.

These are interesting times for the property market.

If you are a Newbury homeowner or landlord looking to buy or let your property in the coming weeks or months, don’t hesitate to drop me a line to discuss what all the points raised in this article mean to you.