Our feet have not hit the ground. Never could we have imagined another summer of the housing industry continuing the way it has.
With buyer demand also remaining high, this year the housing market is set to continue to be competitive however not as quick pace as we have seen in the last two years.
2022 is now well underway and the start of this year opens up fresh opportunities as people decide with the New Year, now is the time to make their move. Returning some of the traditional trends where home owners make that leap of faith at the start of the year and look for a new chapter in their life.
With January now passed we have noticed some changes in search requirements and how reflection over the lack of property on the market has changed peoples perspectives on their new home. The property expert, Tim Bannister has said “people have extended their search area which suggests there isn’t much reliance on being near key transport hubs, or realising that living just a bit further away from the high street could open up more properties”. This unbolts many of our villages across the South Hams. It has been reported by Rightmove that the search area has widened by an average of 50km2 (19.3 square miles) compared to March 2020.
New High for First Time Buyers
We have seen an increase of First Time Buyers looking at properties and purchasing over the last year which has increased dramatically since 2020. Zoopla has just announced that there has been a record breaking 40,000 FTB who completed on properties in 2021 which has been the highest number in the last 20 years. 35% higher than 2020.
Why?
The recent low interest rates and mortgage lenders offering better mortgages based off your salary have seen some lenders offer 5 or even 6 times your salary which was unheard of before the pandemic. The average borrowing amount would be 3 or 4 times your salary.
With a larger borrowing amount and smaller deposits of 5%- 10% it has led to more FTB feeling successful to purchase their first property. There were more than 350 mortgages available to buyers borrowing 95% of their home value in 2021 (Zoopla, 2021). With the combination of the government schemes as well such as Help to Buy: Equity Loan, Help to Buy ISA and Shared Ownership it has allowed more individuals to get onto the property ladder.
We hope that 2022 still continues with providing FTB with the opportunities and see more schemes with incentives to encourage individuals to take that first leap. As an agent we want to ensure we can help in any way and have a close connection with financial advisors so that we can provide the right advice to help more people get onto the property ladder.
We are the British Property Gold Winners of Kingsbridge Letting Agents 2021-2022!
This part has got to be my favourite. Ladies and Gentleman… Boys and Girls…. I am pleased to announce we have won GOLD for the second time in a row the best Lettings Agent in Kingsbridge.
Jo, Alison and Nicola have done a tremendous job on achieving this award and all their commitment and hard work to ensure that our clients get the best outcome has truly paid off. Our main goal is to ensure customer satisfaction is above and beyond and it warms us so much that others also can see this.
Well done girls!
