The Property Rollercoaster

The North of England performed particularly strongly throughout 2020, however, the start of this year will be unpredictable, with people trying to get their property sales through before the end of the Stamp Duty Deadline of March 31st. After the stamp duty hiatus I feel confident that the market will stabilise and make a recovery as we move through the year. Yorkshire will continue to be strong with annual house price growth of 4.9% predicted, Zoopla this week reported a 77% bounce in search activity on Boxing Day which is promising.

Rightmove are predicting that the national average asking price will increase by another 4% in 2021 and Tim Bannister the Director of Property data at Rightmove commented that the indicators of buyer and seller behaviour showed a confidence in the housing market continuing to outperform general expectations next year as it did this”

The ‘once in a lifetime’ re-assessment of housing needs prompted by the pandemic, which has translated into unseasonably strong levels of demand, still has further to run. The stamp duty holiday undoubtably affected the rational of people looking to move, however44% of movers plans according to Zoopla were  not influenced by this, instead their motivations were for more space and better location, which is something that the property in North Leeds certainly has in abundance.

The stamp duty extension

With the country once again in Lockdown, we are facing new challenges. Although the Chancellor has said that he will not extend the stamp duty deadline that ends on March 31st, I feel that he will have no choice but to bow to pressure having been warned that 1/3 of sales could fall through. I predict that the Chancellor will produce a phasing out period to reduce the number of angry Tory voters who may blame the politicians for scuppering their sales.

Buyers and movers who want to beat the stamp duty deadline, still have a window of opportunity to beat the deadline, with typically an average of 54%  of sales agreed in January will complete by the end of March. If you are looking to sell, price your house competitively but realistically, start getting your paperwork in order, choose your conveyancer early and get a mortgage in principle as soon as possible, then there is still time to beat the deadline of March 31st.

The Covid-Vaccine will start to have a positive affect

According to reports, the vast majority of adults in the UK will have had the vaccine by late spring – this will hopefully mean the end of lockdowns, businesses will re-open and people will be able to get back to work, although people will be working in a different way - we are still getting more enquiries for properties with offices and outdoor spaces!

As the Covid-19 vaccine is rolled out then this could aid the ‘fresh start mentality’

The Brexit Bounce will finally ‘bounce’

Estate Agency really took a battering in 2019 due to market uncertainties and fears over the bank of England base rate, but now the deal is done and there is more clarity then this should give some stability to the housing market. Interest rates continue to be low and there are even talk of negative interest rates

Demand will grow for more space as people review their property requirements

Covid-19 has certainly made people re-assess their property requirements, whether it is the need to downsize, upsize, find a property suitable to work from, and a gardens and open spaces are a must. In North Leeds, we are lucky that the properties we list tick many of the new property requirements.

As people work from home there will be a need for fast internet connections - In a recent survey by YouGov, 53% of ABC1 households were working from home full-time now.

Although people will want more space, there is likely to be less of a requirement for ‘open plan’ properties as people look for rooms within their property in order to achieve their own quiet space    

The London Exodus will accelerate

With a rise in remote working and increasing demand for larger properties, people living in London realise that they can get ‘more brick for their buck’ in the North of England. Yorkshire will remain a strong relocation market. In 2020, London leavers bought 73,950 homes outside the Capital worth a whopping £27.6bn - this is the largetst number in 4 years  according to Hamptons. People are looking for Countryside living but within striking distance of bigger well serviced towns and Cities.  – Leeds has direct trains to the Capital and Leeds Bradford Airport close by and an excellent motorway network

Rural Yorkshire will continue to grow as people re-asses their lifestyles.

We have recently sold Yealand House in Arkengarthdale near Reeth to purchasers from London and we are seeing more interest from people looking to swap their urban lifestyle to one that is the complete opposite – Rural Yorkshire close to Urban cities will have a real pull for people living currently in the south of England. At David Phillip Estate agents we use 3D virtual tours, which means that people can view properties in the North from their homes in the South, which was the case of our property in Arkengarthdale.

So, despite all the uncertainty surrounding Covid-19, we do have a Chancellor who understands how important the property market is to the National economy, who is quick thinking and seems to be looking after the property market.

So … if you are thinking of moving home in the next few months, now is the time to start the ball rolling, especially if the Stamp Duty holiday is extended beyond March 31st.

At David Phillip Estate Agents based in Bramhope, we have invested in  the best technology and use the most modern sales techniques - our 3D virtual tours and area videos were normal practice way before Covid-19 necessity.

Call us on 01134 676 400 to arrange a free market appraisal. We are following Government Guidelines and Protocol around Covid-19