IN THE COUNTRY &TOWN Welcome to
Creating the inspiration to move
The Market
Residential Landlords Be Aware – A Change Is Coming
Since our last magazine in October, the residential property market has continued to thrive with distinct buyer demand drivers in the sub £500,000 sector and the £1.5 to £3.0m. sector. In the sub £500,000 sector there was an immediate boost in buyer demand following the recent Budget, when it was announced the favourable stamp duty relief for first- time buyers of a nil rate band up to £450,000, will change from 31 March, 2025 and will revert to £300,000. So the rush to buy in this sector is now on! At the higher end of the spectrum, the buyer drivers in the £1.5m. to £3.0m. were very much about moving out of towns and cities to enjoy a rural life.This was particularly evident in our Hartley Wintney branch where a record sales arranged was achieved with notable increased sales in the £1.5m to £2.0m sector.Typical of this activity was seen when one of our London buyers snapped up the property shown on page 50 and on which a sale was agreed on a guide of offers in excess of £2.0m.
Understanding the Renters’ Rights Bill will be an important factor of being a residential Landlord in the UK.The Renters’ Reform Bill was introduced to the UK Parliament on 11 September 2024 and if passed, the Bill will bring significant changes to the private rented sector, including the abolition of Section 21 evictions.The bill could be enacted by late summer 2025 so we recommend Landlords start to prepare now. If you are a residential Landlord or thinking about becoming one then please speak to our Lettings department (phone 01252 622550 and ask for Nicola Bremner MARLA).
The Up -Tick Continues
We hope you will enjoy this November edition of In The Country & Town, and as regular readers will know we have been reporting a resilient property market for over a year now. At McCarthy Holden the volume of unit house sales is up in 2024 and this means a house seller can be confident about securing a buyer, providing a realistic price is set to go to market with. The market up-tick is now likely to continue through to the New Year and the house market remains in good shape as we move ahead to the Autumn and Winter seasons. Our invitation to anyone thinking of selling their property is to join the up-tick with a free no obligation valuation, and discover not only the likely price you will achieve but also the level of buyer demand.
Will Interest Rates Fall Soon?
Perhaps not, well not as quickly as we had thought. In fact, mortgage rates have been rising in recent days, despite the Bank of England cutting the base rate from 5% to 4.75% on November 7, 2024. In many ways this trend is being driven by a combination of rising swap rates, increased demand for competitive products, and lenders trying to balance profitability. Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential race is also likely to have an impact on prices globally owing to his position on tariffs, and this will influence the Bank of England’s decision making in the coming months. Indicating that further mortgage rate reductions will be slow,The Office for Budget Responsibility’s most recent forecast in October 2024 was that average interest rates on the stock of mortgages are expected to rise from a low of 2% in 2021 to a peak of 4.5% in 2027 across all properties.
John Holden - Chairman McCarthy Holden
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