The summer market and early autumn has been very productive for Hewetson and Johnson, including sales of town houses in York, village houses in the Howardian Hills and an important country house sale near Scotch Corner. Encouragingly new stock on the market is receiving strong interest too and sales are being agreed at all levels in our market place, proving a continued demand for the best houses in their class. 66% of recent sales have achieved the guide price or more.
According to Rightmove’s October report, the price of property coming to the market jumped by 1.8% which is the strongest since 2015. Stock levels are still woefully low and therefore sustaining growth. Available properties per agent on Rightmove dropped from 29 in July 2020 to just 16 properties in September this year. This is more acutely evident in the prime markets which, coupled with rising demand, has resulted in the £2 million plus market seeing annual growth of 13.3% according to Savills Prime Residential Autumn/Winter Report.
There are still many equity rich buyers from out of the region continuing to choose The North of England as their destination for a new life. Covid has changed people’s relationship with their office as companies allow more employees to work from home. We are still seeing a steady flow of buyers leaving London for example, who have connectivity high on their list of requirements, a train station offering direct services to London is a common request. These buyers may spend a couple of days a fortnight in London, often choosing to make the return journey by the day. London buyers are very keen on the Howardian Hills for this reason, and the best countryside around Northallerton and Thirsk train stations.
There are several factors causing some concern for the housing market’s future, not least inflationary pressure on the Bank of England to raise interest rates. That said some sage commenters like Oxford Economics are suggesting high inflation will prove transitory, while growth in demand is clearly continuing to soften. It seems unlikely the supply of new houses to the market is going to change dramatically in the short terms either, and whilst the cost of borrowing is so low, we think it unlikely that prices will come down in the immediate future.
Ben Pridden, our Sales Director adds, “I have been cautious with regard to how long the current “seller’s market” will last. However, as the year has evolved, I think this wave of buyers moving away from homes near their place of work in cities across the country is gaining momentum, and on this basis believe the current levels of interest for family houses and larger homes in North Yorkshire will continue well into 2022. In my view the most immediate danger to the market is agents and owners pushing prices beyond a reasonable level, which I have seen in the past, off the back of a period of sustained and high house price growth.”
