Published: 27/07/2020
The East Midlands housing market is experiencing a post-lockdown boom fuelled by pent-up demand over lock-down, as well as the recently announced stamp duty cut.
This new wave of interest in property transactions is resulting in offers being made on properties which may have suffered with lack of interest as of late, encouraging vendors to accept these offers before the repercussions of the recession surface later in the year.The increase in demand for property has slowed down the decline in property prices over May and June, however with many homeowners now taking advantage of this optimistic period, more property is coming onto the market, increasing supply and essentially giving buyers more choice. An increase in supply is going to fuel a decline in prices when this mini-boom starts to dilute.
Cities and towns such as Lincoln, Newark and Grantham have seen a surge in buyers from London and the south east, with purchasers attracted by the fast and reliable rail service to Kings Cross, as well as our relevant value for money. Overall, enquiries from potential London buyers were up 75% compared to this time last year, and activity is expected to increase even further over August.
The stamp duty 'holiday' allows buyers of homes up to the value of £500,000 in England and Northern Ireland to pay no stamp duty until 31 March 2021, with a reduced rate for homes above that. For someone buying a £500,000 home, the saving is worth £15,000.
Ralph Wyrley-Birch, Senior Partner at Mount & Minster, says: "The number of home sales agreed during the five days after Sunak’s announcement – between 8 and 12 July – was up 35% on the same period a year ago. This is more than double the 15% increase recorded in June."
Mr Wyrley-Birch continues: "It's important for vendors to understand that this is a boom in the number of properties coming onto the market and going under offer, in other words a boom in activity, not prices. Counties such as Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire in the East Midlands are not necessarily seeing a surge in property values, merely home buyers and sellers taking advantage of this superb opportunity to buy and sell a house. Cautious sellers are accepting perfectly reasonable offers at just below their guide price now, rather than receive significantly lower offers in a few months time when the economy will inevitably take a turn for the worse as the subsidies available to businesses come to an end."
It would appear that the time is certainly now to take advantage of this somewhat fabricated market, by a chancellor determined to bolster the flagging economy and pending downturn in economic activity and confidence.