Simon's spring 2024 update

Finally, the blue skies are back and we can bask in the welcome spring sunshine. As they say, a week is a long time in politics, and this is even more so now as all Political parties’ jostle for position before the starting gun is fired for the General Election. In residential property, a week is not a long time so we can’t exclaim a great shift in thinking since our January blog. We continue to exist in a low transaction world but then again, we are likely to see this for some time to come, whatever the predictions are. We have seen a rash of price reductions (sorry, corrections) recently, which has now encouraged increased footfall and acceptable offers in many cases

It’s been a steady 2024 so far, transacting in notable addresses, including Cadogan Square (off market) Whiteheads Grove (acquired off market), Cadogan Gardens, Wilton Place, Pont Street and St Leonard’s Terrace which suggests the market is ok. We aren’t frantic but we are able to be efficient because buyers are too. The latter are fewer but focussed and with so much of their homework undertaken on the property portals, ‘time poor’ buyers will only go and see the properties which are possibly 80% right for them.

We attended a couple of house launches recently, held by fellow agents. These are a wonderful counter to modern consumption of property i.e. Rightmove, Primelocation and On the Market, or the agents’ intranet, Lonres and 3D tours. These were a daily event, pre internet, for agents to show their wares and, almost as importantly, to compare notes. What was telling was a mood of caution due with the diminished levels of activity and for those larger firms, with the many hungry mouths to feed, the lack of good stock coming to the market is a worry.

The CGT reduction from 28%-24% triggered in the recent Budget might help alleviate this and be the tipping point for some long-held property owners to sell their second homes. Otherwise, there are few other incentives to get people moving. Of the instructions we have agreed or sold this year, one was probate, two are developer owned, five are selling as the homes are no longer used enough (ex-rental or second homes) and, crucially, a big zero for a vendor selling to upsize or downsize. This will be symptomatic with the area we work in (affluent) but it also raises the question of why such relative stagnation for what used to be a key reason to move. I suspect the reasons will include not finding anywhere to go to (lack of stock), can’t face moving (time, cost and hassle) or too expensive (Stamp Duty Land Tax). The latter remains incredibly damaging to our market and, since 2014, has created this stagnation effect which does not help anyone standing on most rungs of the property ladder. 

We now enter our favourite time of year as we have a holiday-free run until mid-July. The warmer and, hopefully, drier days notably inspire people to come and search with renewed earnest. This combines perfectly as homes look their best as do the surrounding parks, communal gardens, and tree lined roads. We look forward to embracing this season and expect it to be productive.