Market Comment – November 2022

As we enter the last and festive month of 2022, it appears though all the pundits are preparing themselves for a gloomy 2023. After 33 years of commentating on the market and for those of you who follow my market comment, it will be no surprise to know that I always look for the positive and I appreciate 2 factors: 1) negative news attracts more attention than positive news, and 2) the economic outlook for 2023.

Firstly, as I look across our figures in the last quarter, things have changed, in that help to buy came to an end, interest rates and subsequently mortgage rates have gone up and there has been a certain amount of inflation related uncertainty. However, I would like to reassure as many people as I can, that whilst I fully take on board all of the above, firstly the sales market is motivated by supply and demand, and even as I write this in December, there is more demand than supply, all be it there was a 9% decrease in prospective purchasers in October and November than August and September. Also, for those of you who are shopping around with the mortgage deals, whilst we saw a spike in late September / early October that was closely related to the interim budget, that now has settled down somewhat and I fully appreciate that rates are different to this time last year, but if you are looking for a home to live in for 5, 10 or 15 years, they still are competitive.

I do not subscribe to the gloom that is being pumped out but I do subscribe to a steady sales market moving in to 2023. It seems an opportune moment to mention that we are expecting new government incentives in April to assist the new homes market, but I will be sure to keep you closely advised as soon as we have any clarification. I confess I have no more details at this stage.

Whilst commenting on the sales market, I feel it only fair to comment on the areas in which we operate and all of our 8 offices and departments and divisions within, are within the London Borough of Croydon, which is the largest borough in London and we cannot escape the fact that it is still only 15 minutes from London Bridge or Victoria. I firmly believe Croydon represents fantastic value for money, simply for transport links.

Turning to the residential lettings market, which once again seems to get less press attention then the sales market, remains solid and strong. There are still over 10 prospective tenants for every property that comes on to the market and I am waiting to finalise the figures for the last quarter, but rents in the areas in which we operate, all be it slightly, have increased in the last quarter and my narrative remains the same in that Landlords have the luxury of being very selective because of the number of tenants registering, when deciding which tenant to choose.

So in conclusion, whilst some commentators use slow down and slump to attract attention, I think 2023 will be steady and stable, which may not attract as much attention but the words speak for themselves.

Once again, it only leaves me to thank all of our clients both new and old and we are really looking forward with new offices opening in 2023, seven new developments and a big investment for the Streets Ahead family in training in development, to really forge forward and stand apart with our customer service offering for all our clients in the coming year.

I wish you all a happy Christmas and look forward to reporting back to you in January.