If you read or listen to the property press, or the national media commenting on the property market, you will know they are currently awash with speculation and projections on the way the market will behave in 2020. But it is only speculation. We have never been in conditions quite like this - coming off the back of a surprisingly emphatic election and three-plus years of market dormancy, brought on by political confusion and inertia.
However the national press are not necessarily the safest forecasters of the overall picture. Many seem to forget that the property market is not one homogenous whole across the country but is a series of mini-markets affected by local and regional economic micro climates.
As we enter a new decade, these micro conditions will once again enter into play. Regions about to see economic stimulus will come into a new focus. Areas benefiting from new infrastructures such as transport will become targets for renewed interest from buyers. Parts of the country that have been in decline will begin to bloom and perhaps even boom in property terms. Sellers will reap the reward.
Of course, buyers will still choose locations for schooling, work, retirement and natural beauty so these factors will continue to be strong personal influencers. But one thing most of us in the business can agree on is that the cloak of uncertainty which created the prolonged slough of activity in the property market has lifted.
It is as though a curtain has been drawn back to reveal new dreams and a buying and selling public now prepared to act. The increased number of new buyers and sellers already contacting us this year emphasises this.
But the change in public perception will not come overnight. It will happen by degree. But it will occur as new opportunities arise. Hot spots will evolve. The secret for buyers is understanding and even anticipating where these hot spots might be.
As estate agents, experts in property and our communities, we are the people best suited to comment on the market in our area. We have been doing this for a long time. Whatever your property dreams please come and talk to us first.
