by Ray Clancy on November 15, 2011
via propertycommunity.com
The UK residential property market has experienced a year of two halves with prime central London and some of the Home Counties regions seeing an abundance of activity but other parts more subdued.
Mostly buyers have been adopting a cautious approach and 2012 is likely to see nervousness continue although it may encourage more investors, according to Philip Selway, managing partner of The Buying Solution, the independent buying consultancy of Knight Frank.
‘I believe that 2012 will be linked inexorably to the economy. A volatile stock market does create nervousness, however, at the same time it can encourage investors to look to property because it is deemed a safe bet in the long term,’ he explained.
In the Home Counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Surrey, South Oxfordshire and West Sussex, buying consultant Paul Frost, said that the north Surrey market has largely been driven by international money this year, in particular, Russian, Middle Eastern and Chinese buyers, mainly on the Wentworth Estate and St George’s Hill.
Meanwhile, there has been less activity above £2 million in the towns and villages that tend to attract UK buyers. There is still demand from buyers coming out of London, perhaps with the view to securing a property before the September 2012 school year, but there is not a lot on the open market.
‘Where there is property on the market, we often see an imbalance of around 10% between buyer and vendor price expectations; there is little pressure on sellers, yet buyers look at various factors, especially the global economy, and believe that prices are likely to fall, so unless they find their perfect house at the right price, buyers are prepared to wait,’ he explained.
In the Southern Region of the M3/M4 corridors covering Wiltshire, West Berkshire, Hampshire, Dorset and Somerset, Bobby Hall reports generally good activity especially in the £1 million to £2 million price bracket although some houses that were originally put on the market have only sold after dropping the price by 20%.
FULL ARTICLE CONT. .....
London market extremely active with record prices being achieved.
