Marlborough Living Sep - Oct 2021

THE VIEW FROM THE BOUNDARY
We catch up with local estate agents to find out a little more
about the most tumultuous year any of us can remember...
The last 18 months have caused
many of us to re assess how we live
and perhaps more pertinently to this
feature, where we live. Quality of
life, surroundings, the need to work
from home and perhaps the desire to
spend at least some of the week still
doing so, all of these factors have
changed the housing market, locally
and nationally. We thought that our
key local estate agents would have a
view on this – and we were right...
JONATHAN RICH,
BREARLEY & RICH
The residential property market in the
Marlborough area remains robust despite
the Chancellors stamp duty suspension
coming to an end on 30th September.
Within the Marlborough area we think we
have seen a rise in prices of some 7-8%
in the last 12 months.
Property sales this year have been
strong across all price ranges and indeed
the main problem now is sourcing more
stock to offer ready and willing buyers.
Even before the stamp duty suspension,
the market was building a head of
steam, with pent-up demand from
buyers that appear for very good
reason to have been procrastinating
for years. The 2007 banking crisis, 3
general elections in 6 years and Brexit
had really put the brakes on the market.
Once Brexit was decided, we finally
began to see the market start to gather
confidence.
Our view is that there seems to be no
reason to think that the market will not
continue in the same vein for the short
term. The appetite from buyers is strong
going into August and therefore there
is reason to feel that a busy Autumn
market will follow.
EDWARD TAYLOR, FINE &
COUNTRY, MARLBOROUGH
AND DEVIZES
It’s certainly been a frenzied property
market of late. Unprecedented
levels of demand continue to outstrip
availability, and the resultant upwards
pressure on pricing has left some
vendors rubbing their hands with glee,
only to find they are faced with the
issue of now buying their new property
in the same hugely competitive market.
Zoopla reported that in the first half
of 2021 available homes for sale was
down 24%, whilst demand rose 26%.
They also report the average time to
sell (SSTC) of just 22 days, nearly half
the 42 days it took in May 2019. The
Nationwide House Price Index reported
a 13.4% annual increase in prices in
June 2021, due at least in part to the
stamp duty holiday up to £500,000.
For those of us fortunate to live in
Wiltshire, we all know the many
reasons buyers will be attracted to
move here from elsewhere in the UK.
More flexible working patterns have
meant that many can now relocate
from London and the South East,
putting further strain on housing
supply.
The next 6 months? It’s impossible to
say precisely, but if demand remains so
strong and supply of new properties to
the market continues to be constricted,
then it is almost inevitable that prices
will continue to rise well into 2022 and
beyond.
To book an up to date market appraisal
of your property call Fine & Country
Marlborough and Devizes on 01672
511 211 or email edward.taylor@
fineandcountry.com
LYNN ATWELL,
ATWELL MARTIN
Oh, my goodness, what a year! Never
in our wildest dreams did we think
the property market would continue
trading during the pandemic. It has
been the most challenging, but most
rewarding time with a record numbers
of homes sold. The pandemic has
given people the catalyst they needed
to make life changes that they
probably were contemplating, but just
not getting on with.
This situation continues, as more and
more people are working from home
and wanting home/office space and
larger gardens. Our list of proceedable
purchasers now outstrips our stock
and so our focus is firmly on gaining
further instructions. Any property listed
is generally sold within days, with
some going to final bids.
The stamp duty holiday certainly
caused a stir and made the early
summer a very stressful time for
agents and solicitors as we all strived
to achieve completions before the
30th June cut-off date. We did think
that this would cause the market to
slow, however there still appears to be
a good market out there.
First-time buyers are the first step in
the chain of moving up the property
ladder and are now rising to the top
of the market again as mortgages are
becoming easier to obtain.
Atwell Martin are an independent estate
agency with 30 years’ experience in
North Wiltshire and we are always
happy to help and advise on any
aspect of buying and selling your
home, whatever the market is doing.
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