It is well established that the residential real estate market has been, shall we say, buoyant this year.
The stamp duty holiday helped set the real estate world on fire, with movers scrambling to close their sale before the deadline.
Many agents said they were ‘rushed’ so we asked them about the Nottinghamshire market and the crazy year in real estate that 2021 has turned out to be.
From selling and moving into a rented property so they “don’t miss out on their dream home” to buying from video, to thousands of people viewing a single property online , this year has brought to light a sense of urgency in the real estate market.
Ian Marriott, Residential Manager at Savills, simply said “2021 – What an incredible year we have had”. He said: “We’ve sold more properties over a million pounds than we’ve ever done.”
Driven in part by lifestyle changes brought on by the pandemic, demand continues across all price ranges. He said there is still a massive demand for property and a lack of available stock. The company, in the last quarter of the year, had “93% more people signing up to buy a home.”
(Image: Savills)
Elliot Brown, Nottingham City Center Business Advisor at FHP Living, said: “We had very fast sales this year. Even properties that don’t actually make it to the open market and sell to buyers that we have in our database. “
The sense of urgency in the market even led to some unexpected decision making. Elliot added: “Buyers are buying on the back of virtual tours as well, which has further sped things up.”
According to the latest data from Zoopla, in October 2021 the average time to sell in Nottingham was 25 days (list to gift), which is four days faster than a year ago and 15 days faster than average historical records for that time of year.
But it’s not just the speed at which sales are occurring that drives the market. Jules Hunt of FHP confirmed that stock levels are an important factor.
She said: “There are just more buyers than there are properties and so many different situations including people living in rentals just waiting for something to buy – our rented division does. has never had such a busy year.
“Houses receive around 16 offers, then [some owners are] accept an offer but go higher [if better offers come in]. It’s a sellers’ market and they can choose who to sell to.
But people don’t always look for the highest bid. “One of my sellers had a difference of £ 15,000 bids, but he just liked the person who wanted to buy from the lowest bid and sold him,” says Jules. “As agents, we say it’s not always the highest offer that’s right for you, there are other factors to consider – how long the chain is, what position the chain is in. ‘Buyer…”
This seller’s market that Jules talks about was illustrated in another recent transaction. She said: “A house in Edwalton had 18 offers and sold for £ 110,000 above asking price – buyers just wanted the schools.”
And as we spoke, she pondered her most recent ad, a £ 375,000 house in the area that went on the market at 4pm the day before. By lunchtime the next day, 13 tours were booked.
Agents reported low inventory levels throughout the year, which Jules said was made worse recently by news of interest rate hikes, the utilities crisis and the time of year. – Christmas traditionally takes over in the minds of home buyers who prefer to wait for the New Year to sell. That said, viewing levels are still high, especially for the time of year, and January and February are expected to be busy. “
Across town, Phil Burton, manager of Robert Ellis in Beeston, admitted the market had been rampant this year. He said: “A highlight for me was when three offers on a £ 2million property were made.”
(Photo: Robert Ellis)
He added: “Going to ‘best and final’ deals on a property has become the norm – interest in homes for sale has skyrocketed… the market is on fire.”
Phil recalled that 30 visits on the first day of a property listed for sale were not unusual, while the sale of a property well above the asking price was also not unexpected. However, he added: “I am a chartered surveyor as well as a real estate agent and I am very aware that homes have to assess the mortgage valuation to satisfy the lender. There has to be comparable evidence for the high prices or the sales will drop. “
Auction houses have also seen their success skyrocket.
Andrew Parker, Managing Director and Auctioneer at SDL Property Auctions said: Months show no signs of slowing down.
“In fact, I’m sure many of my auction colleagues would agree that there has been an increase in the number of people turning to auctions as a means of selling their property, thanks to the certainty it delivers – something we’ve all wished for at some point lately.
(Image: unknown)
“We’re now seeing a move away from auctions being just for the run-down and do-er top guys and now being a real way to sell any kind of property – even multi-million pound homes in some cases.”
“I think the auction market as a whole is a really exciting place right now, and it will be interesting to see where 2022 takes us all.”
This is a view shared by the Bond Wolfe auction house.
Gurpreet Bassi, managing director of the company, highlighted three lots in and around Nottinghamshire which all at least doubled their guide prices in the 2021 auctions and “had thousands” of views online.
All three bedroom houses, one in NG8 and two in the nearby town of Long Eaton, on the Notts / Derbyshire border.
Gurpreet said: “All three [these] homes had over 50 people looking at them physically, as well as thousands taking a peek or virtual tour online.
“Even if the three homes needed modernization, there is a dynamic market of first-time buyers with DIY skills or of owners willing to invest to increase their portfolio.
“And it’s great to see sometimes tired homes become new owners where they become great places to live again. “
The number of buyers and sellers turning to auctions certainly appears to have increased over the past year.
(Image: Bond Wolfe)
Gurpreet added, “Once we had a fully live-broadcast auction during the foreclosure, the interest from bidders was phenomenal leading to crazy prices and then increasing the number of lots.
“At their peak, our auctions ranged from 230 to 240 lots, a high level that was in part due to the stamp duty holidays. Although lot numbers have now stabilized, we still have 197 to come. [in the December 8 sale] , which is still above pre-Covid levels.
And it’s not just Nottingham or even UK buyers tapping into live sales to see lots as they go under the hammer. According to Gurpreet, “In the pre-Covid era it was rare to have someone from overseas, but in recent auctions we have had bidders from Hong Kong, China, Japan, Singapore and from the United States who joined us all on the same day. “
He added that in Nottinghamshire and the East and West Midlands throughout 2021, “” The property market has remained strong “as opposed to a” slightly sticky scenario in London “.
He said: “The upshot is that more and more South East bidders are attending the Bond Wolfe auction where they get their money’s worth.
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