2024 MARKET UPDATE FOR THE LOCAL AREA
It's hard to believe that 2023 has drawn to a close and we are already in a New Year!
It has been an incredibly positive start to 2024, with mortgage interest rates dropping significantly and a sharp upturn in market activity in the local area.
Here at Kelvin Valley, we are seeing lots of movement already, with many new properties booked to come to the market over the next few weeks, and plenty of new buyers registering with us looking for properties.
The drop in mortgage rates in recent months from over 6% to now sub-4% will be a major factor in lots of buyers returning to the market in 2024. With inflation now much more under control and the Bank of England under pressure to cut interest rates and stimulate economic growth, it is likely that the recent downward trend on mortgage interest rates will continue in the months ahead.
To put the recent changes into context, borrowing £200,000 at 6% over 25 years would have cost borrowers £1300 per month just 6 months ago. Now however, to borrow £200,000 at 4% costs £1050, which is a substantial saving of £250 per month / £3,000 per year.
Despite 2023 being a challenging year of very high interest rates and large cost of living increases, the local market proved to be very resilient with 156 properties still selling in the local area. This was 19 properties (11%) less in total than what were sold in 2022, but given the difficult market conditions it was not a huge drop at all. We also saw property values holding around the same level and not dropping, like they have in many other areas.
Of the 156 properties sold in the G65 postcode area, our Sales Team sold 95 of them with a 61% market share. The vast majority of the properties that we sold achieved above home report value. This is great news for anyone local looking to sell!
During the same period, there were 68 properties rented in the local area, with our Lettings Team having an 80% market share. We are still receiving huge numbers of applications for every property listed, due to a shortage of rental stock throughout the area.
There is no doubt that demand for local properties continues to outstrip supply. With mortgages also now becoming cheaper, all key market indicators point towards property prices rising in 2024. Where demand continues to outstrip supply, the prices will continue to rise. How quickly they rise just depends on how high the demand/supply ratio is, i.e. if there are 2 buyers/tenants for every property they will rise slowly, however if there are 10 buyers/tenants for every property, then they will obviously rise much more quickly!
Here at Kelvin Valley we look forward to an even busier market in 2024 and as always, our team is on hand to answer any property-related queries that you may have. Having sold and rented properties in the local area for over 21 years now, we believe we are best placed to help out local people who are looking to move home, whether selling or renting.
For further information on the property market and how we can assist you, please get in touch
0800 133 7775
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