3
Sep
Winning The Property Cycle
Nick Churton of Mayfair
Office assesses the property market this autumn and shares some
thoughts on how to come out on top.
With uniforms
disappearing from shops faster than you can say “Back to
School”, our unforgettable and glorious Olympic summer is
almost behind us. For a while most of us forgot about the financial
arena as we became more interested in how Team GB was doing in the
athletics one. For a few weeks of sport-induced amnesia we
also forgot about the property market.
Well, property is back! Hard on the heels of
the Tour de France and Olympic road-race and track cycling, we have
property cycling. The property cycle is back in the news and back
in our thoughts. Early autumn is the time of the year when
property once again comes to the fore as families get busy thinking
about a move before Christmas.
It is possible to move by Christmas. But
is it probable – or desirable - given the economic and social
conditions that prevail? The latest statistics tell us that
property affordability is the best it’s been for over a
decade, but also that mortgage lending is down yet again. A
paradox. And the next sets of figures may not be any better
either, as they will reflect the summer lull. But out there
things are stirring. Enquiries are rising. More people
are viewing. More offers are being made and sales are being
tied up.
Numbers are what the property market is all
about. The more enquiries the more viewers, the more viewers
the more offers, the more offers the more sales. Simple
really. And with more house sales the more our economy will
respond. And the more the economy responds the more confidence
people will have. Confidence drives the property
market. It is not city bonuses, slick marketing or estate
agents. It is buyers confident about the future and sellers
confident with reality.
Yet it is a harsh reality just now. We
are probably not yet done with this wretched downturn, although
prices across the country have flat-lined over the past couple of
quarters - and they will probably do so for a few quarters to
come. But then, who knows? Mortgages will no doubt become
easier to obtain and more and more people will then want to enter
the property market. And that is precisely the wrong time to
do so - because a better time is right now. Now there are more
options and more opportunities for those in a good position to
buy. Now there are some great choices in the market.
Now there is less competition. Now there is more time. Now
there are deals to be done. Now is the time to buy before Christmas
and now is the time to get settled before the property cycle begins
its climb. It is always best to be a winner on the flat than miss
out when things get steeper - ask any road-cyclist.
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