AT SAVILLS in Henley, January’s activity indicates that the market is improving for both sellers and buyers. They report that the new decade got off to a slow start thanks to the snow, as did the residential market.
However, they say, there are now very clear signs that the pent-up buyer demand for the best properties seen in the second half of 2009 has carried over.
“In the last three months alone, over 6,000 people registered with Savills throughout our regional offices in the UK, with budgets of between £500,000 and £3 million, and a total of over £6.2 billion to spend between them,” reports head of sales Stephen Christie-Miller.
“That the mainstream markets will continue to be constrained by restricted mortgage availability and a slow recovery from recession is not in doubt, but the outlook for the prime markets in which we operate is more benign.
“In this sector buyers are less reliant on high levels of borrowing and, as a result, our research team forecasts much less price volatility and a much earlier return to sustained growth.
“One thing that the prime housing markets prove — even in a period of volatility — is that over the long term, any commodity in short supply and high demand will outperform the average.
“In numerical terms, the Savills Research forecast is for the value of prime regional property to flatten this year and increase by 27 per cent by 2015.
“We are also now seeing rental values stabilise for the first time in 12 months.”
Published on 08 February 2010
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