As sure as day following night (and as anticipated in my previous column) the spring market has seen a flood of activity, although not quite in the same mould as we have become accustomed to in recent years. Having spent the majority of the last three years bemoaning the lack of new property to the market, as soon as a glimmer of sunshine emerged this year we have seen market appraisal levels jump by 34% since March and new properties to the market by 64%. Such a spike was beyond our projections although there is nothing like a smattering of dryer weather (after the wettest March in 40 years) to encourage the owners of fine gardens within the village and country homes of Suffolk and north Essex to consider whether now might be the best time to maximise their appeal.
Whilst this emergence of a greater level of choice to the market is welcome in terms of a fairer balance of supply and demand than has been the case in recent years, it does rely on the continued strength of new purchasers to the market in order to sustain both activity and prices. Whilst new applicant levels remain steady and have increased 15% since March, we are not seeing the same rate of increase as we are new properties to the market. This is expected to result in more competition to attract purchasers with some sections of the marketplace unquestionably impacted more than others, those with unique, individual properties arguably best placed to weather any headwinds.
Overall, the sales market remains largely stable with mortgage rates continuing to come down (albeit slowly) with our preferred financial services providers reporting fixed rate mortgage products available for less than 4%. A keen eye must be kept on the headline figure of inflation and whether last months increase to 10.4% was a blip or part of a more sluggish trend that will potentially see interest rates remain higher than presently forecast. The average time taken to secure a purchaser in the east of England has increased slightly to 56 days, very much in line with the majority of the country (incidentally London has the longest average marketing period required to secure a purchaser at 70 days).
Our Lettings business still remains exceptionally active with a significant disparity between available property to let and tenant demand. Average rents within the David Burr group have now passed £1,100 per calendar month with question marks still over Energy Performance Certificate requirements to be enforced from 2025 and restrictions on capital gains allowances causing a number of landlords to consider the sale of a portion of their portfolio. The better weather typically signifies the biggest change in our managed holiday lets department with spring typically the optimum time to see a huge increase in bookings. Almost 80% of our annual bookings come across a seven month period that starts in April and should you have friends or family requiring accommodation for spring/summer please do visit us at davidburrholidaylets.co.uk to book a stay.
Our first charity walk of the year in memory of David Burr took place on Friday 7th April and both the weather and the company was much enjoyed by all. At the time of writing we have raised over £2,400 and will be announcing further events through the year in aid of St Nicholas Hospice. Please keep an eye on our social media channels for further announcements as the more attendees the merrier! To support us visit justgiving/fundraising/davidburr2023 or follow us on Facebook #davidburrestateagents
