Market Comment – October 2015

September’s housing market can only be described as a month of confidence as we experienced as a group more prospective buyers registering than any other month in our 25 year history and this was fairly equal across our group from office to office from Crystal Palace to Coulsdon. Our stock coming to the market was also up 4% on August and this was also equally spread across our operation.

Taking the 2 factors into consideration, it would be no exaggeration to say the confidence in the Croydon, Crystal Palace and Purley housing market is as robust as it has ever been in the past. One of the drivers, the proposed Westfield/Hammerson 3 billion pound development of the Whitgift Centre moved a step forward on September 25^th with the compulsory purchase order of the outstanding parcels of property being approved by the secretary of state. After attending one of our Develop Croydon meetings this week, Westfield have said that ‘’soft building work’’ will commence in 2016 with demolition of the existing Whitgift Centre really taking place in 2017 and Westfield will be open with its 300 new shops in 2020.

Turning to rented accommodation, rents remained steady with no increase and there was a marginal increase on prospective tenants looking to rent in September compared with August, however August had been an extremely busy month with prospective new tenants.

I thought it was interesting that property website Rightmove commented that the average asking price of a home in the UK had increased by 0.9% over the month to hit £294,834 and predictions by economists expect prices in England and Wales to go up 5% this year instead of 4% originally thought at the beginning of the year (this has quadrupled from 1 ½% to 6%).

I would like to thank all the staff and their respective spectators who attended the gruelling Nuts Challenge on September the 5^th and congratulations to all who achieved the very muddy course, with all proceeds going to the Streets Ahead Foundation.

I am really looking forward to October as confidence in Croydon takes another step forward and I look forward to reporting back to you with all of Octobers results at the end of the month.