Similar to last year, 2021 has been dominated by the covid pandemic and subsequent lockdowns. However, as it’s been widely reported in the media, the property market has been soaring – much thanks to the stamp duty holiday.
With the incremental end to the stamp duty holiday happening in September – we are reflecting on the year so far and give our predictions for the months left of 2021.
As with most years, 2021 has seen seasonal changes where the summer months are incredibly popular to sell in. However, the key difference this year is that we saw more sales than normal in the traditionally quiet and early months of the year. This is reasonably explained by the stamp duty holiday with an influx of buyers looking to secure a property before the original March end date.
As expected, many buyers used the extension to buy property with March peaking as the most popular month for sales agreed. It’s reasonable to assume that after such a popular month – the property stock was limited in April leading to a dip in sales. July also shows the same dip as April, expectantly as buyers have either already purchased or decided to wait as the deadline for stamp duty happened at the end of July. The same is the case for vendors, who had either sold or decided to take their property off the market due to not being able to complete before the holiday ended.
Source: Rightmove Plus downloaded on the 7th of September
Customarily, the winter months are often quieter than the summer period, therefore, we expect the number of sales to slightly decrease in the coming months. However, this is not due to a lack of buyers, but rather available stock. Our experience is very much that the current market is strong with numerous buyers waiting for new properties to be advertised.
What does this mean for property prices?
As the below graph shows, the median property price in Southampton thus far in 2021 has been £240,000 and the most frequent price of a property is £250,000.
Source: Rightmove Plus downloaded on the 7th of September 2021
We do not expect to see prices increase vastly from what we have seen so far this year, however – we do expect that the typical popular properties will tend to sell for the top-end of their guide price or just above their asking price.
Overall, our expectation is that prices will remain stable throughout the year as the property stock is low. Generally, we get interest in all the price ranges we advertise properties at yet continue to see that typical first-time buyer homes are the most popular properties when marketed.
If you are thinking of selling or want to have an informal chat about the value of your property, then please contact us.