Post lockdown summer holidays lead to slight slowdown in activity in August and lessening of price pressure, and although the market has seen the first overall monthly fall in the average price of property coming to market so far in 2021, this is predominantly due to a cooling at the higher end of the market.
Buyer demand remains strong despite the relative summer pause and in the first week of August individual buyer enquiries were up by 56% on the same period in the pre-Covid year of 2019, and down by just 17% on the frenzied post-lockdown 2020 numbers.
There are new record price highs in the mass-market sectors made up of two bedroom and fewer first-time-buyer-type properties, up by £1,328 (+0.6%) and three to four bedroom second-stepper-type properties, up by £975 (+0.3%), where activity remains very strong. These lower-priced sectors are much less affected by the withdrawal of most stamp duty incentives and may have placed housing higher up their summer agenda than usual as more are holidaying closer to home.
Available stocks for sale are still at record lows, with buyer demand hoovering up new supply leading to more properties selling and selling more quickly.
George Sifonios, Managing Director at David Astburys said; “Last week we listed a 3 bedroom garden apartment in Crouch End and we had an agreed offer from a cash buyer within days of it going on the market. So, if you have a property that you are considering selling, now is the time to put it on the market. Our sales team are using targeted marketing campaigns to reach the widest audience.”
David Astburys was the exclusive agent for a new development of nine luxury 2/3 bedroom apartments on one of Muswell Hills most sought-after roads, Creighton Avenue. They reported that they let all nine apartments in a period of 4 weeks before the development had been completed.
Yianni Aresti, Lettings Director and Founder at David Astburys said; “At David Astburys we really focus on the needs of our clients and getting the type of tenants our landlords are looking for. On this specific development our tenants were a mixture of professionals from corporate companies such as Facebook and Google which is why we continue to onboard new developments coming onto the market. Additionally, we let over 70 properties in August, and we secured 26 new long-term tenancies.”
If you have a new buy to let investment property or a house or flat you have owned for a while that you need help letting, get in touch with the Lettings team at David Astburys in Crouch End. Their focus is always on effectively letting and managing their landlords’ properties and ensuring a profitable return on their investment.
Contact: Crouchend@davidastburys.com 020 3000 6787
