The comapany predicts that the New Year will witness increased drive for the market as a result of the recent stamp duty reforms.
Henry Sherwood, MD of The Buying Agents explains where and what different buyers should look for:
1. Families
Recent changes in stamp duty suggest an increasingly competitive year for the £1 - 1.5M family market. More "rung jumpers" will be taking their London equity out to Surrey, although there will also be increased demand in central family orientated areas such as Clapham where it is possible to purchase a suitable family home for under £1.5m or Ealing where you can purchase a similar family home for less than £1m with plenty of outside space.
2. First time buyers
We recommend that first time buyers steer clear of Cross Rail routes with already over inflated prices and look to North London, as most of the south section of the proposed Cross Rail 2 has already seen good growth. Southgate is a place to watch, with good infrastructure such as schools and transport links already in place, and is the obvious CR2 route.
3. Investors
The buy-to-let market will see a return to the fundamental principles of property investing, driven by yield as opposed to capital growth. For London investors, we favour areas outside of central London (where prices have already peaked and are beginning to soften) such as City Airport and Royal Docks in Zones 2 and 3. The existing areas surrounding the proposed £1b Asian Business Port will see demand from investors as off plan supply is currently limited. Regionally, Liverpool is still the buy-to-let hot spot, followed closely by Belfast, where prices are still -50% of peak and are only just starting to rise.
4. UHNW & Developers
Having already negotiated 15% from some new build/off-plan projects, there are surely some very nervous developers at present, although it not yet possible to know whether the stamp duty changes will slow the Uber Prime market. Demand for these areas in London could have already been met in which case there may be a shift towards the traditional UHNW playgrounds. As developers cater solely for demand, Ibiza will be featuring heavily on shopping lists, followed closely by The Riveria for Europeans and St Barths for US.
Sherwood, says:
“Many London homeowners will want to cash in on their properties and move to the country next year. The majority of these will want to buy around the M25 commuter hubs, with good transport links to the capital. Families who still need to get access to the City can however still be confident of getting the best of both worlds in suburban areas like Ealing and Hackney which offer more outside space at less than £1m.’
Sherwood added:
"Investors really need to keep their eye on Zones 2 and 3 in particular where opportunities for capital growth and strong yields are abundant."
