As I write this, I reflect on 2 dates. Firstly, our progress and results in February which I am quietly excited by, as prospective sales applicants are up a whopping 16% on the same month in 2019 and residential lettings applicants are up by 12% on the same month in 2019. The activity that we experienced in January has carried all through February across all sectors of our operation, including sales, lettings, new homes and land.

I was delighted to attend the launch of 9 luxury apartments in Monahan Avenue, Purley and with the weather on our side and a lot of hard work behind my team, we secured a number of sales and saw a steady flow of over 45 prospective purchasers throughout the day and this was reminiscent of the more heady days in the past. We are yet to launch another development of 6 luxury apartments in Coulsdon and pre-launch, we have already taken a reservation for one and are looking to take a further reservation in the next 24 hours. Activity across the group in new homes has been nothing short of phenomenal after launching and securing every property in Pearl Close.

The 1st March was also a milestone day as Streets Ahead opened for business on 1st March 1990, so a real milestone for the team. Both myself, Bob Hay and Marina Steel who opened the doors in 1990 are still working full time, really enjoying every aspect of estate agency. With no plans to retire, we look forward to many more years and it is an enormous pleasure to be dealing with so many repeat customers from Crystal Palace to Croydon, to Coulsdon.

I have every reason to believe that the confidence shown in the first 2 months of 2020 will extend into the first quarter and I look forward to reporting to you in 4 weeks.

Some market commentators and newspapers have called it the ‘Boris Bounce’ however, mindful that my market comment is non-political, I can report that there has been a substantial upturn in activity in the housing sector in January and it is my opinion that the uncertainty of Brexit and the cloud of stuck in the mud politics has passed us and the confidence is there both in the sellers and buyers.

I was delighted to see that we saw a 21% increase in prospective new purchasers registering in January and a 15% increase in new homes being listed in January across our group and in summary, there has been a very big spike in activity and the confidence in the housing market has definitely returned.

Help to buy goes from strength to strength and I was delighted to see so many people at our recent launch in Purley and also, prospective new purchasers enquiring about the help to buy scheme was up 26% on January 2019 and I am very excited about all the developments with help to buy being launched with our new homes team this year. From Purley to Crystal Palace and Croydon, we will be launching a number of mixed schemes in the first quarter of 2020.

I am always very proud to attend our annual sales conference at Selhurst Park football ground and this year was no exception, with every member of staff attending and I was thrilled to hear of all the fantastic examples of estate agency both in the lettings and sales market in 2019 and to reward the winners and recognise outstanding members of staff from accounts, to admin, to new homes, sales & lettings.

The residential lettings market has also experienced an up-turn with 11% more prospective tenants registering and 12% more stock available than this time last year and after carefully studying this market, I have no doubt that we are in for a solid residential lettings year.

For the last 3 years, we have had the cloud of uncertainty, not just in estate agency, but in much business and it seems as if our news was dominated by Brexit, but now this cloud has gone and taken the uncertainty with it and I predict a welcome to this confidence and a solid up-turn in 2020.

Happy new year to all our clients, all be it a little belated and I look forward to helping many of you move in 2020.

Firstly, I would like to wish all of our customer’s past and present a very happy new year and I was delighted to read over the last 2 weeks and even at the end of December, some positive news amongst the property pundits and news in general. All seem to agree that now the political uncertainty and probable Brexit uncertainty is over as we head towards leaving the EU on January 31st, this will put a spring back in the step of the housing market. It is my opinion that a lot of decisions, including recruitment and major investment that was put on hold, will all start to un-clog now and will lead to movement both within the sales and lettings market. We have already seen in the first week of January, a spike in interest both from prospective tenants and prospective purchasers.

Our Lower Addiscombe Road office registered 49 prospective tenants in the first weekend alone. There is a marked improvement and the cloud of uncertainty for both markets has definitely blown away.

I was delighted along with Scott Ayliffe and Bob Hay to present the winners and high achievers at our annual sales conference last Wednesday and as I briefly reflect on December, all of our figures from New Homes to Lettings and Sales were all a pleasant surprise and up 4% on last year’s December.

I have read many interesting articles going into the new year in regards to the property market, alluding to stronger activity in the North and the South, but I am of the opinion this will even out this year. I think that the Property News’ headline on the 16th January is indeed correct in that estate agents are noting a growing indifference in Brexit amongst buyers and are keen to get on with their lives. Although we hear about challenging property conditions in London, it is worth noting that the average price is still £475,450, only 0.5% down on the previous year.

I think that post-election there is pent up demand for all our sectors to include lettings, sales and new homes, even with investors and aspirational buyers coming back to market. I am looking forward to reporting back to you at the beginning of February, reporting on what I am confident will be a strong and confident start to 2020.

November can best be described as a solid and stable month for the sales market across our group, from Coulsdon to Crystal Palace.

The number of houses that we agreed sales on were marginally up on November 2018 and it was refreshing to see that just over 85% of the offers that were accepted were at the asking price or over.

I note that prices across the UK rose by 0.8 percent to late November according to Nationwide, which was a slight pick up on the previous month, with the average UK home costing £215,734 and I concur with Robert Gardener Nationwide’s chief economist that “Rightly or wrongly, for most home buyers, elections are not foremost in their minds while buying or selling their home.” To summarise this, whilst the scaremongers talk about economic uncertainty, Brexit and the general election next week, throughout this year I have not seen a wait appetite, in fact, the opposite with help to buy and the housing market in the areas we operate in.

On the 19th November, I was pleased to take my team to the develop Croydon conference, this being the 10th year running and to hear all the exciting regeneration plans for Croydon clearly will result in complete regeneration of the Purley Way which is imminent. Croydon is leading the way and a lot of investment is going in to new tech start-up firms. The councillor Tony Newman and Croydons chief executive Jo Negrini’s opening speech was full of optimism for Croydon and not just for the amount of new homes being built but clearly all the surrounding infrastructure to include schools, recreational facilities and transport which is all under review to support new housing.

On a personal note, it reminded me how some years ago Croydon was viewed as one of the most creative and busiest retail areas outside London and that regeneration after some years is happening here to stay. It is obvious to see why the rest of the UK and indeed global purchasers are interested in the Croydon market.

Two pleasant surprises in November were the amount of new tenants we moved into homes, which was a November record for Streets Ahead and also Land & New homes goes from strength to strength and we are on the verge of launching six exciting new developments in the next 4 weeks. An example of this was Westbrook Road whereby we had a soft launch of 6 houses last week and already 50% have been reserved and after speaking to our New Homes manager Patrick Donnelly, he fully expects the whole of the development to be sold (subject to contract) by the end of the month.

As we all reflect over the past year with the housing market, I think it is a story of success in that there has been plenty of negative propaganda in the media and as I have mentioned yet the appetite remains strong and solid and I can see no evidence or reason why that wouldn’t spill over in to 2020.

Which only leads me to wish all our customers, past, present and future a very happy Christmas and I look forward to reporting back to you early in 2020.

As the Brexit deadline came and went and we face a general election in December, this appears to have had little impact in activity throughout our operation.

Indeed for the first time turning to lettings first, October by far was our busiest month, up 13% on October 2018 and I have read a number of reports now suggesting that the final quarter of 2019 will depend on the Brexit arrangements and general election outcome and I disagree as I think political fatigue and malaise has set in, mindful that people still have to move throughout sales, lettings and then particularly taking advantage of the help to buys scheme on new homes.

In October we experienced a spike in potential vendor enquiries, once again underpinning that moving is top of the agenda and not Brexit and as I have reported earlier in the year, market appraisals now stand between 3% and 4% up on those in the same period year to date in 2018.

Turning to New Homes, I was pleased to see the final results in October, in that so many people picked up keys for their new homes this month and it’s similarly exciting to see the new developments we are about to launch in the next 8 weeks coming together with the housebuilders and developers adding the finishing touches.

Turning to the sales market, as I have mentioned we saw a spike in market appraisals and new registrations pretty much remain solid in the same as September and August, and I have an instinctive feeling that this may be the same for November, but I will, of course, report to you at the end of the month.

The number of new sales agreed was slightly (2/3%) up then the month before and I also have a feeling this figure will be sustained from early indications in November. Whilst putting this report together I read other reports that talk about stagnation and uncertainty and I have a feeling people can talk themselves into this and there is without a shadow of a doubt a core and solid appetite for moving and I would urge people not to use excuses and channel that negativity into motivation.

September can only be described as an unusual and strange month both for sales and lettings and for me, who speaks to my team all day and every day, I confess it seemed like a long month.

Let me explain when I say unusual, in that nothing seems predictable throughout the group from new sales agreed, new lets agreed, to exchange of contracts. Let me give you an example of a typical September 2019 week at Streets Ahead. Our Lower Addiscombe Road office on Monday 16th tied up 3 sales (1 of which was New Homes) from the previous weekend and then from Monday afternoon through to Friday only received two unacceptable offers, however on Saturday the 21st we received 7 acceptable offers, taking our total sales for that week for our Lower Addiscombe Road branch to 10 sales and this was pretty much mirrored with lets and contracts exchanged. It was just a little erratic (and not great for the nerves).

Amid all the chaos at the houses of parliament, it is my firm belief and I have experienced and heard it that prospective tenants and purchasers have parked the events in Government and just getting on with their lives. I guess my message to everybody who is thinking of selling, buying or renting including New Homes (with the fantastic help to buy scheme) is business as usual.

With 447 new prospective purchasers registering in September and 678 prospective tenants registering in September and seeing first hand our offices packed with clients at the weekend, I am delighted with the recent activity and results.

It’s been back to school, summer holidays are over and there is a real feeling of let’s get moving and I am firmly of the opinion that the rest of 2019 will remain solid and stable.

I look forward to reporting to you any trends, statistics, figures and my opinion at the end of the month.

First and foremost, on behalf of all the Streets Ahead family, I would like to thank the NHS and keyworkers for their unbelievable commitment and incredible work during these challenging times. I am sure it goes without saying that we have all been touched by the amazing courage shown by our doctors and nurses, key workers and all those that are looking after and supporting the vulnerable.

In all the years gone by, I have reported to you in respect of the property sector both in the good times and the bad. Our main focus has been the health and welfare of our staff, our clients and our community and also our charitable work and time given by our staff to those in need.

As we go on, this will remain our main focus and until I write to you again, please take lots of care.

Gary O’Hare

I wanted to take this opportunity to focus on some of the positive stories in the media during the last month. Whilst I know this is a difficult time for everybody, I want to once again focus our huge thanks and support for the national help service and all key workers for the phenomenal job that they are doing in these very challenging times.

In our capacity as members of the community, I am delighted to see so many of our staff helping vulnerable neighbours and friends with their shopping, prescriptions and moral support. I am sure we all saw and watched the tremendous public support for Captain Tom Moore in raising over £32,000,000 and on behalf of the Streets Ahead family, we would like to thank him too.

Whilst planning committees have been working remotely in Croydon, during the last month there have been announcements of new companies relocating to Croydon and Croydon was even identified as London’s second best office location by property week, scoring the highest grade in all but two categories, I will report back to you more of property matters in May.

For the moment, on behalf of the Streets Ahead family, we all hope you are safe and i look forward to giving you a new update in the near future.

Firstly and most importantly, I trust and hope all our customers clients and indeed everybody is safe and well.

I know that these are difficult serious and challenging times for everybody and I would like to thank those once again on the frontline, putting themselves at risk to get us through this pandemic.

I have to say, February seemed to rush past and you will all know we had very cold weather and the reason I mention this is because occasionally the very cold weather seems to detour viewings and the appetite for viewings both in lettings and sales, but our statistics and figures show there was no such loss in appetite.

There were many statistics out in February, notably on February 17th, the BBC reported an 8.5% increase in house prices in 2020, amid the tax holiday, with England rising by 8.5%, England by 8.4% and Wales by 10.7%, although notable London was more subdued with a 3.5% increase, with a tiny drop in November and December.

I noted that Nicky Stevenson, the managing director at Fine & Country, commented “there was no escaping a lack of space for households, who suddenly found they were living on top of each other with little respite. This has powered annual growth that reached a six-year high.”

I was pleasantly surprised to see that our Crystal Palace office covers, West Norwood, was the capitals top hotspot with the average asking price increasing by 12%, stating the West Norwood offers well rated state and private schools, strong sense of community, a new leisure centre and recently opened picture house. It is no surprise that buyers are coming from more expensive areas such as Clapham and Balham because West Norwood is on the up.

Turning to our figures, our lettings registrations were up 6% on the same month last year, but the amount of moved in lets was 1% lower than the same month last year and because of the increase in prospective tenants, it is now 7/8 tenants per property.

Turning to the residential sales applicants, this was really highlighted by the number of extra new home buyers that registered, up 13% on the same month last year, whilst the second-hand residential market remained solid and steady.

I am looking forward to March, as I can really see there is a healthy appetite right across the property spectrum, with some exciting incentives from the government, I really believe we will see a spike in activity.

Once again, my best wishes to everybody and please stay safe and well and I will be reporting back to you next month.

Please accept my apologies for the slight delay in Februarys market comment, however this is simply down to activity levels being so high in both residential sales, residential lettings and in new homes. A particular mention goes out to our unsung army of hero’s, the admin team and property management department, who 7 days a week, 365 days a year, manage the 2,000 properties predominantly in the borough of Croydon, reacting in these recent cold weeks to burst pipes and all manor of demands, which as I reflect have been met with exceptional customer service. All too often, it is the sales consultants from lettings, sales and new homes that are recognised. The army of administration, property management and accounts team ensure that the back end of our customer service matches the front customer facing end.

Turning to the market, January faced its challenges as a few of our staff tested positive for Coronavirus and accordingly those offices were closed and there were the logistics round this.

Our sales enquiries were up 4% on prospective purchasers on the year before and our lettings enquiries were up an amazing 13% on the previous year, with a number of city analysts expecting a property boom in 2021.

Like all of us, our main focus is the safety of our staff, customers, family and our friends and taking every precaution with government guidelines and 2020 has taught me once again to expect the un-expected.

So I am pleased to report to you, whilst all indicators are solid and stable for the first quarter, I would prefer to report back to you accurately at the end of this month.

I cannot finish this market comment without paying tribute and respects to a member of the Streets Ahead family, Callum Hayden, who sadly passed away in January. Callum was with this firm for nearly 5 years and had made many sincere friends with clients and colleagues and will be sorely missed by us all.

I look forward to reporting back to you with how the property market is performing later on in the month.

Firstly I would like to wish everybody a happy new year and I trust all be it a different one, everyone had a lovely Christmas.

There is no doubt that over Christmas and during the early months of 2021, not only in the property market but the main news across the UK and world over will be the COVID 19 pandemic. Whilst we all adjust to the challenges of the recent lockdown, it is hard to predict the housing market going ahead, however I have left it slightly later to write my market comment and there is a clear picture emerging that the demand both by prospective tenants and prospective purchasers remains solid and whilst viewings can take place under strict government guidelines, we are encouraging our clients to view our virtual tours thoroughly before viewing a property physically.

As we reflect and look at 2020, after 31 years at Streets Ahead, it was a year like I have never seen before. I was very proud of our staff with their charity work they carried out and the adaptability and readiness to help and work working from home.

I am still analysing the figures from 2020 and whilst January and February started off well, obviously everything changed in March with the lockdown and restrictions in the rest of the year. No one could have foreseen the events of 2020 and it seems a poignant moment to stop talking about our business and statistics and I would like to finish with extending our heartfelt support to all the National Health care staff and support staff, who have tirelessly looked after us all over the last 12 months and on behalf of the Streets Ahead family, we cannot thank you enough.

We appreciate that there are still huge challenges ahead and we would like to thank you in advance for your professionalism, hard work and kindness.

As we approach the end of the year and we emerge from another lockdown, I would firstly like to thank all our clients who have vigilantly adhered to strict government guidelines, all the precautions and extra measures we put in to place for the safety of our staff and the public in November.

I confess, I am pleasantly surprised at the activity both in the residential sales and lettings market during November, as we saw more enquiries from the portals than I expected, up 4% on the same month last year for residential sales and up 6% on the same month last year for lettings enquiries.

Whilst the lockdown in the beginning of the year was difficult for everybody, it prepared us for the second lockdown and for all those working at home including solicitors, property management and so many others, all seemed to work streamline and efficiently.

The stamp duty holiday which finishes on the 31st March 2021 is still generating good levels of response up to £500,000 and equally the help to buy scheme still really provides high levels of enquiries and our land and new homes department this year has gone from strength to strength with us completing on hundreds of houses and apartments across the borough this year.

We are already producing brochures and marketing material strategies for launches in January 2021. These launches will have an appeal to all types of purchasers, from a development in Thornton Heath with apartments ranging from £200,000 to 5 bedroom executive houses on a new gated development in Kenley from £1,350,000.

Whilst I appreciate and know it is still a difficult time for us all, we are obviously continuing with strict government guidelines with every part of our processes in respect of buying and renting and I would urge any prospective tenant, purchaser, landlord or vendor to contact us in advance so we can run through our procedures prior to any visits to a property or properties.

There is every indication that there will be normal activity levels across residential sales and lettings and I suspect due to recent trends there will be a spike in new homes enquiries in the month of December.

Which only leaves me to wish all of our clients past, present and in the future, a very happy and safe Christmas and I look forward to reporting to you all in January 2021.

I’m pleased to tell you all that the housing market both in residential sales and lettings remained solid in October and in pockets of the areas we operate in, we are seeing prices still rise.

After analysing all of our figures, our prospective purchaser enquiries were up 4% on the same month last year and prospective tenants looking to rent was up 6% on the same month last year.

The stamp duty holiday and the governments help to buy scheme has really stimulated the housing market.

From the 5th November, England will go in to a national lockdown for 4 weeks and all non-essential shops, bars and restaurants will be closed, but the housing secretary Robert Jenrick has confirmed the property market will remain open both in residential sales, lettings and new homes. However, it remains at the forefront of our policy to keep our staff and the public safe during this second lockdown period and I concur with NAE Property Mark, Mark Hayward, in that it is vital that Estate Agents continue to take all the necessary steps to reduce the spread of Coronavirus.

I am of the opinion that as the stamp duty holiday deadline gets closer, the demand for property will increase and I think this will be highlighted in the next 5 to 6 weeks in particular. It is important to note that during this second lockdown period, surveyors will be able to value properties as long as they follow social distancing rules and all viewings may still go ahead as long as strict social distancing rules are followed.

In October, the average price of a property coming to market reached a national record of £323,530, a 5.5% jump from the same time last year according to Rightmove and the number of sales reached the highest number ever agreed in a single month, up 70% on September last year.

Whilst I am in no doubt that there will be challenges ahead in this second lockdown period and of course all our thoughts are with the NHS and all those supporting other people, I am confident that the next four weeks will see a steady and solid property market both in Sales and in Lettings and I look forward to reporting back to you in 4 weeks’ time.

September turned out to be robust both in residential sales, lettings and land and new homes.

I was correct with my prediction, in that activity even exceeded my expectations. Two particular areas to be noted is a 12% rise in prospective purchasers compared with the same month last year and a 31% rise in new help to buy enquiries on the same month last year and even the enquiries for the larger more expensive properties were higher than I thought, all underpinning the current news that there is a very healthy property appetite.

It was interesting to attend our annual conference a few days ago, whereby even though we have had a 3 month lockdown and all the uncertainty with coronavirus, transaction levels are only 3% down on last year and it is my personal view that this will catch up and overtake last year.

Whilst reporting on Septembers figures, I could not go without a special mention to our lettings progression team who moved in our second busiest month on record as a group and my thanks to them as I know there have been many challenges working strictly under the governments Covid-19 guidelines.

Broadly speaking, the split for prospective purchasers seeking flats and apartments as apposed to prospective purchasers enquiring for family accommodation was an equal split. However, it was identified at our national Estate Agent Masters conference that two of the biggest words searched on Rightmove for lettings this year were annex and garage and this comes as no surprise as so many people are working from home.

Whilst I know there will be challenges over the coming months, our focus remains steadfast in that it is imperative that the safety of our staff and clients remains un-compromised. We are continually adapting and innovating for safer conditions for all.

So I hope you all have a great and safe October and I look forward to reporting back to you at the beginning of November.

First and foremost, I trust and hope all our clients and customers are well and safe, as we all know these are very challenging times.

Even I confess in these challenging times, not only is the property market in sales, lettings and new homes bucking the trend, but demand was up so much in August is almost seems incredible. I am reliably informed that one of the major property portals that we advertise on, has seen a spike of over 265% traffic in August.

Most of us know the reasons for extra property market confidence, the obvious being the stamp duty holiday which runs till the 31st March 2021. The pent up demand from the period of lockdown is still filtering out to all sectors of the market and help to buy from the government has proved a huge success.

I can report that prices across the United Kingdom were 5.2% higher than the same month last year, thus being the strongest annual growth since 2016, (according to the Halifax), with the average price of a property in the United Kingdom being £245,747.

Turning to our figures in August, after a sluggish month with seeing existing sales through in July, with frankly having to navigate around associated services which are still working remotely which has been a challenge for our progressors, managers and both vendors and purchasers alike, we finally managed to unclog this in August and our completions on house purchases were up on the same month last year. New sales have shot through the roof as you might expect from my earlier statement and new enquiries are up 88% on the same month last year. New sales (bare in mind we were suffering from Brexit fatigue) are up 76%. I expected a spike with the stamp duty holiday and I was unsure about how much pent up demand there would be but I was told socially recently of a couple that haven’t been able to go on holiday so decided to move and I think this is typical of peoples decisions in 2020.

Most surprisingly has been our lettings results. We moved more people in August than any other month in our trading history. In this respect, first of all I would like to pay tribute to our staff and all the many clients who have been patiently participating in all the PPE equipment and rules we have strictly been adhering to whilst on viewings etc. and will be taking place for the foreseeable future both on sales and lettings and indeed new homes – I cannot see this changing. My only explanation for seeing such a spike in move ins, is the overflow of the lockdown demand and in light of not being able to go on holiday as much and it would be fair to say a lot of other normal options not available, moving home both in sales and in particular the lettings market was very very busy in August.

Our New Homes division continues to go form strength to strength with the last property at Monahan Avenue being sold, the last apartments at Selsdon Road being sold and as I write we are hoping to conclude the sales of two developments in Coulsdon and Purley.

As the months seem to be rushing by, we still have a lot of new developments to launch this year which is very exciting and please feel free to contact me directly regarding this.

I hope my comments are helpful to you and if you have any questions please feel free to contact me directly.

I look forward to reporting back to you in October.

Gary

July turned out to be an unprecedented month and no one in the industry could have foreseen the expediential spike in activity and indeed in confidence. It seems hardly possible that change in a three month window.

Sales enquiries were up in excess of 270% and lettings enquiries in excess of 210% and as I write this in early August, I can see that this month has every chance of being busier.

There are many factors that have contributed to this huge spike in activity and confidence – the stamp duty holiday until March 31st, the end of lockdown and help to buy goes from strength to strength. This all coupled together with record low lending rents is a recipe for the current confidence.

I am delighted to reflect on July and the record figures for our new homes division, in that we secured more new homes reservations in July 2020 then any month before. Across all of our operations, from Coulsdon to Crystal Palace, it’s been the same story – substantially more enquiries and more homes negotiated to a sale.

Turning to the lettings, we experienced a 20% increase in activity compared with July 2019 and I think this is as a result of no movement during the lockdown period and once again good confidence in the residential lettings market and I think this will continue for the foreseeable future.

So whilst I wish all of our clients a safe August and we are as a company strictly adhering to all government guidelines to ensure your safety, I hope you have a great month and I will back to you at the end of August with a fresh update on the local housing market.

Whilst I am mindful that so many people throughout the world are making such sacrifices, it almost seems inappropriate to deliver to you an upbeat report, but the housing market has returned with full force across all of our offices and departments and all of the figures have been substantially up on June the previous year, most noticeably with lettings enquires and prospective tenants up 16% on the same month last year.

It is not a surprise to me that both in Sales and Lettings we have seen a spike in new properties coming to market after a period of lockdown. However, the unprecedented number of prospective purchasers and prospective tenants has been a pleasant surprise to us all.

During June, the safety of the public and our staff has been the most important factor after returning back to work and I have been so proud of our staff in their responsible attitude to each other, the public and the continued charity work and gestures of kindness all throughout June. I would also like to thank our landlords, homeowners and tenants, for all playing their part in protecting the public for their vigilance and responsibility.

Whilst I know we have some challenging times ahead, if Junes actions are anything to go by, then I am confident we are doing our very small part in combatting the Coronavirus.

Finally, another department which has astounded me is our land and new homes division, which has expanded rapidly in 2019-2020 and in June we acquired a number of developments for clients, sold last units in developments and had one of our best months ever for reservations. There is a clear mandate and appetite for the new homes and help to buy market and I suspect that will continue for the foreseeable future.

Lastly, I would like to take the opportunity to wish everybody a safe and happy July as shops, restaurants and public houses are all now reopening.

I look forward to reporting back to you in early August.

First and foremost, I hope and trust you are all well and managing to adapt in these challenging times.

I can personally speak for the whole operation throughout the Streets Ahead group, in that we have made huge operational changes in line with the government guidelines and so much more to protect our staff and customers.

Most of you who have viewed or have enquired about a property, whether it be Sales or Lettings, will be aware that all departments have very strict viewing guidelines and since we re-opened our doors at the end of April, we have supplied thousands of gloves and masks.

Whilst we know that there are challenging times ahead, we are 100% committed to protect and make safe all that we can for our clients, staff and the public.

Enquiries this month, not surprisingly have seen a huge spike and to put it in to perspective, we have already experienced 138% increase in enquiries and 89% more traffic to our website than the month before. Breaking these statistics down, 54% have been from lettings and 46% for sales.

There has been a huge appetite and a very encouraging amount of new enquiries for new homes and we are confident that June will see us secure more reservations than any other month in the last 12.

As we all see matters change from week to week, I am pleased to report to you that the confidence in the housing market has returned at what almost seems full throttle and in this respect, all of us at Streets Ahead are very excited about the coming months and the second half of the year.

I look forward to reporting to the back to you at the beginning of July and in the meantime, our best wishes to everyone from the Streets Ahead family.

February, what a month!

Not only a leap year, but a leap in enquiries both for sales, investments and prospective new tenants.

Following our unprecedented success which even surprised me on the 3^rd February at our launch of Fifteen Lansdowne in our Croydon office at 219-221 Lower Addiscombe Road which was packed full of prospective purchasers and enquiries, the rest of February went on to see further reservations at this development and at our other new developments at Green Dragon House, Croydon High Street and Enmore Mews, South Norwood and Carlton Road, Croydon.

Noticeably, in 2016 and in particularly February, our enquiries have come from far and wide both from the UK and internationally with demand completely outstripping supply, underpinning my previous market comments this year predicting that 2016 is going to be a solid and exciting year.

According to a previous RICS chairman, house prices in London increased 13.9% in the last year, double the national average taking the average price in London to £530,409 and I thought it was also interesting to see that the figures just out for mortgage approvals jumped to a 2 year high in January with some 74,581 mortgages to a value of 13.9 billion pounds were approved for home purchases in January, the highest figure since approvals were recorded in January 2014.

New tax changes will affect investor’s from April 2016 with landlords paying higher stamp duty charges and I strongly believe that this will not affect the housing market in Croydon as the demand is so strong.

Prospective purchaser’s looking to buy was up 25% in January and prospective tenants looking to rent in the areas that we operate in were up 3%.  I think that this robust momentum with all the exciting news coming out of Croydon will only gain momentum throughout the year.

I look forward to reporting to you later in the month as March unfolds.

Gary O’Hare, Director of Streets Ahead on how to sell your home for more in the spring

The housing market in general across all of our areas in November remained steady and I noticed in a recent report that the average value of a property now stands at £196,305 across the Uk which is 3.7% higher than a year ago.

Croydon continues to ‘’buck the trend’’ with quite a lot of negative reporting in the newspaper regarding October and November’s housing market. Croydon remains London’s hotspot as a place of opportunity and as I have previously mentioned it is only 14 months before Westfield completely demolish the Whitgift Centre with the new shopping centre set to re-open in February 2020.

The number of mortgages approved in October rose to 69,630 just up from September at 69,012 and higher than the 68,099 average over the last 6 months, the Bank of England reported and whilst i do not have Novembers figures yet, mortgage approvals in October hit £12.2 billion pounds and this time last year it was 59,423 so putting things into perspective we are up 17.2%.

It was great to attend Develop Croydon on the 18^th November and the momentum for change and may I say the re branding of Croydon is absolutely tremendous. Each year we see new investors looking to invest and buy in Croydon and this year was no exception. On a much smaller level I attended the Croydon Chamber of Commerce quarterly meeting in November and the chamber’s appetite for opportunity is equally admirable.

Similar to the residential sales market, residential lettings grew slightly month on month with new applicants up 2 – 3% and by and large we saw no change in the cost of renting and also in the areas that we operate it is still between 6 and 7 tenants available for every property with landlords understandably having the pick of tenants.

Turning to new homes, we were thrilled to be instructed on some landmark and major developments in Croydon including the innovative apartments at Green Dragon House, Impact House, Enmore Mews and apartments at Mint Walk which will be released in 2016 and this is a department that we are planning major expansion in in 2016.

Lastly, I could not have been prouder at the estate agency of the year awards which is dubbed our Oscars and is sponsored by the Sunday Times and The Times where by once again we were awarded the Gold for Best Customer Service in the Uk, Bronze for Training and Development and Innovation and Patrick Donnelly our Croydon Manager was shortlisted down to the last 6 for Best Manager in the Uk. This is recognition of the high customer service standards and training that we have provided in 2015 which I look forward to providing to all of our customers in 2016.

As the decorations go up and the Christmas lights go on, this only leaves me to wish all of our customers, past, present and future a very happy Christmas and we look forward to helping and working with you throughout 2016.

March, what a month!.

As investors rushed to complete by the March 31st, it would be no exaggeration to say that our team were working at a speed reminiscent of the property market at its absolute busiest. Speaking to solicitors and conveyancers, many had seconded extra staff to cover the deadline as any investment property purchase needed to be completed before the end of play on the 31st.

I have read that many purchasers were happy to pay extra solicitors fees as in some cases if they completed on the 31st they would be saving as much at £15,000 in stamp duty.

Turning to the mainly owner occupier market, recent figures from land registry reveal the average cost of a home in England and Wales stood at £190,275 in February. This is 6.1% higher than a year ago but down slightly on the January figure of £191,812. Land registry figures also showed that the annual price growth in London is running at 13.5% more than double the national average, with the typical price of a property in the capital now £530,368.

I was interested to read that there is fresh evidence just out that buyers priced out of London are readily switching their attention to more affordable areas within commuting distance and I am positive this is why Croydon has been identified as one of the hot spots around London, coupled with all the obvious developments and progress happening before our eyes.

It was also interesting that one of the national newspapers identified Crystal Palace as one of the top ten places to live in London and we are certainly experiencing this with the influx of prospective purchasers registering, which is up 16% on the same month last year. I myself visited the Crystal Palace triangle last weekend and was overwhelmed by how busy it was with most shops, coffee houses and restaurants remaining open.

There was an unexplained spike in the number of prospective tenants registering in March, 7% up on the same period last year and rents are 5/6% higher than the same month last year. Analysing these figures, there is now 7/8 tenants for every property available, with landlords understandably being very choosy with their tenants.

Our New Homes department broke all records in March with the obvious allure of completing before the 31st of the month and the momentum growing with investors both here and abroad realising what outstanding value Croydon, Crystal Palace, Purley and Coulsdon are.

I look forward to reporting to you in May with regards to Aprils developments in the housing market.

Regards,

Gary O’Hare

 

Activity throughout our offices remained solid and steady in May with regard to the sales market with a small increase for the same month in 2015.

New instructions to the market were up 3% and new registrations looking to buy were also up 3%. Interestingly, I have looked at the type of property that our new prospective buyers registering in May were looking for and it was a real mixed bag with the only common denominator being that over 70% were owner occupiers.

There was a marked increase in activity with regards to new landlords coming to the market in May as we saw a 9% increase of new landlords on the same period last year and I have no doubt that this is due to the stamp duty changes on March 31st. In a recent report, I have read that there are 1.75 million landlords in the UK according to the HMRC and landlords banked a combined a 14.2 billion in net income from their rental properties during the year, up from 13.1 billion the year before.

On June 2nd, we hosted our second investor’s event in the Croydon College Conference Centre and we are thrilled that one of the property industries top commentators, Kate Faulkner was able to attend. Herself a passed Croydonion, it was great to hear her enthusiasm for Croydon’s ambitious regeneration. Croydon’s deputy leader Alison Butler, councillor for homes, regeneration and planning told delegates that the regeneration is already transforming the look and feel of the borough and she went on to explain plans such as college green near Fairfield Halls, the former Taberner House site and Westfield to an enthusiastic 200 hundred strong attendees.

Having read the feedback from our event, it seems that there is so much passion and enthusiasm to invest in Croydon and I was delighted to read all the comments of praise surrounding this year’s investor event. Very shortly we shall be looking at arranging another event.

Fingers crossed as the weather hots up, so does enthusiasm and word is certainly spreading in respect of Croydon is the borough of opportunity for the owner occupier and investor alike. I am excited about the summer months ahead and I cannot finish this month’s market comment without a word on Brexit. Whilst I am obviously apprehensive about making a party political broadcast, I am pleased to report that the negative Brexit commentary and reports have not affected the Croydon market and across our group to date.

 

April has in some respects defied all the pundits and that has certainly been the case in the areas that we operate in.

Some industry commentators had suggested from the 1st April that Buy to Let landlords and people buying second homes would have to pay 3% stamp duty and in the areas that we operate in that would inevitably be 5% or 8% of the purchase price for a second home or buy to let purchase. Some thought that this would be a reason for the market to call off in April.

From Crystal Palace to Coulsdon, this has not been our experience and I think the reason is that demand still outstrips supply and investors that couldn’t take advantage of the March 31^st deadline are taking into consideration the bigger picture and what a fantastic opportunity that Croydon still is.

Interestingly prospective purchaser registrations were up 3% across our group than the previous month and our new, new homes purchases are up 7% on March and 18% on the same month last year so there is no evidence that things are cooling off.

Having spoken to our new homes and land/development managers, enquiries for both purchase and selling of land and development opportunities have also been unusually high in April so there is definitely sustained and improved activity in our housing market.

Our residential letting market once again in April has remained steady and solid with rents going up by 2% on the same month in 2015 and new registrations up 5% on the same month in 2015. There are still 8 tenants for every property and I have every reason to believe that this situation will remain the same for the rest of the year.

I am delighted that reservations are already being made for our investors evening on June 2^nd and I am looking forward to property commentator Kate Faulkner talking to us on a variety of property and investment topics.

Traditionally May is a really busy month in the housing market with light mornings and light evenings and hopefully better weather all round. People are encouraged to go out and view.

I think that the next few months leading into the summer are going to be exciting times ahead as Croydon and our other offices remain firmly the areas of opportunity.

I look forward to reporting to you at the beginning of June on May’s figures.

Traditionally October is a good solid month for the housing market and October 2015 was not to disappoint. Early indicators in the month showed a firm spike in prospective purchasers looking to buy and in the first half of October as a group we registered 4% more purchasers than October 2014.

Firmly on the agenda of prospective purchasers is both the value for money, connectivity and the Westfield factor, all which is stimulating prospective home movers within the borough and firmly outside the borough. I myself have attended a number of conferences and seminars in October and it is very common for people to say to me ‘’Croydon is the place to buy’’ and as I have mentioned previously, for the first time in 42 years people who arrive at East Croydon station or people that pass by the station cannot fail to notice cranes and development.

So still a solid and robust October despite homes nationally dipping slightly but to put it in perspective, the national  average of the typical home is still over £202,000 which is 8% higher than a year ago and prices in July, August and September as a quarter have risen 2% during this quarter. I read with interest last week that the land registry commented in September that the average price of a typical house in London was ‘’very close’’ to £500,000 and I agree with all the pundits and politicians that we firmly need to build more housing but as most of you know this is high on the agenda with the London borough of Croydon both in the town centre and the areas surrounding.

Turning to the lettings market, October is broadly what I expected with 7 tenants for every single property which has remained the same for the last 3 months. Interestingly, the lettings market is experiencing similar Croydon feel good factors as the sales market and in October there was a sizeable amount of tenants registering who were not residents in Croydon and were new to the area.

We were thrilled to attend the negotiator conference and awards on the 3^rd November and hear from the housing minister Brandon Lewis with an interesting insight into government proposals for 2016 and beyond. I was equally thrilled on behalf of Bob and I and the staff to win the silver awards in both the commitment to the community and medium estate agency in the United Kingdom categories. It means a huge amount to us all here at Streets Ahead and the Streets Ahead Foundation is looking forward and already planning events in 2016 with all proceeds going to local Croydon charities.

As November kicks in and Christmas office parties get booked for December, I am expecting a really solid month for sales and a consistent month in residential lettings and I look forward to reporting back to you very shortly.

September’s housing market can only be described as a month of confidence as we experienced as a group more prospective buyers registering than any other month in our 25 year history and this was fairly equal across our group from office to office from Crystal Palace to Coulsdon. Our stock coming to the market was also up 4% on August and this was also equally spread across our operation.

Taking the 2 factors into consideration, it would be no exaggeration to say the confidence in the Croydon, Crystal Palace and Purley housing market is as robust as it has ever been in the past. One of the drivers, the proposed Westfield/Hammerson 3 billion pound development of the Whitgift Centre moved a step forward on September 25^th with the compulsory purchase order of the outstanding parcels of property being approved by the secretary of state. After attending one of our Develop Croydon meetings this week, Westfield have said that ‘’soft building work’’ will commence in 2016 with demolition of the existing Whitgift Centre really taking place in 2017 and Westfield will be open with its 300 new shops in 2020.

Turning to rented accommodation, rents remained steady with no increase and there was a marginal increase on prospective tenants looking to rent in September compared with August, however August had been an extremely busy month with prospective new tenants.

I thought it was interesting that property website Rightmove commented that the average asking price of a home in the UK had increased by 0.9% over the month to hit £294,834 and predictions by economists expect prices in England and Wales to go up 5% this year instead of 4% originally thought at the beginning of the year (this has quadrupled from 1 ½% to 6%).

I would like to thank all the staff and their respective spectators who attended the gruelling Nuts Challenge on September the 5^th and congratulations to all who achieved the very muddy course, with all proceeds going to the Streets Ahead Foundation.

I am really looking forward to October as confidence in Croydon takes another step forward and I look forward to reporting back to you with all of Octobers results at the end of the month.

Whilst all around seem to be talking and concentrating on the United Kingdom triggering article 50, giving us 2 years to leave the European union, at Streets Ahead we marched on and produced very solid and stable results throughout March. There have been conflicting projections and reports in the newspapers, with the footsie reaching record highs, some house builders optimistic and some cautious even airing on the side of pessimistic, although all agree that we need to build more homes and the supply is not meeting the demand.

I was interested to read a lot on Theresa May, kick starting the Brexit process and the impact this will have on the housing market in Britain. However, I read in a recent report that 43% of Londoners think that UK house prices will rise once the country leaves the European union. I think a lot depends on the result of negotiations over the next 712 days and as I have mentioned, we still need to build many more homes of all sizes to meet the demand.

Turning to our own figures both on the residential Sales and Lettings market, our new house sales (second hand stock) was up 8% on the same month 2016, however the number of lets across our group was only up 2%, so great to see stable and much improved, but it goes to show that Croydon is bucking the trend once again when it comes to London house selling. We saw a marginal increase of 1% on the same month last year with rents achieved and new registrations for prospective tenants were up 5% on the same month last year. So all in all a healthy overview with no statistic decreasing.

Once again March saw good activity in the New Homes market and I was pleased to see the number of enquiries from prospective home owners and investors looking to buy new properties also remained healthy.

So from a business point of view, I am delighted with March and as I started this month’s market comment, March was best described as solid and steady. The outlook for April is already looking good, and I look forward to reporting back to you mid-April with interim results.

Gary O’Hare

Traditionally, February although the shortest month in the year, over our last 27 years has proven to be an extremely busy month and February 2017 was not to disappoint.

I was very interested to read the government housing white paper which was published this month. The white paper recommends a number of measures to increase the supply of housing and refers to “slow building of new homes” with also “supporting developers to move more quickly” empowering local authority’s to force the pace of housing developments, under the threat of having planning permission removed if there is no evident progress on scheme. As I read through this, I couldn’t help think that Croydon Council has already implemented so much more of this paper and is ahead of the game in many respects and as Jad Adams chair of Nightwatch for the homeless commented “local authorities are not noted for their creativity, but the current administration in Croydon has been at the forefront of creative thinking in trying to expand its local house building programme and find new solutions. It would seem an opportune moment to thank all those in the last few months who have so kindly brought in sleeping bags, duvets and blankets for the 2017 Blanket Appeal, which have accordingly been delivered to Nightwatch and at this point on behalf of the directors and staff I would also like to thank Jad Adams, who for such a long time has tirelessly worked so hard for better conditions for the homeless in Croydon.

I was interested to read in the Guardian on the 9th February by Julia Kollewe, in that UK Rents are expected to rise faster than house prices over the next 5 years, this is based on a prediction by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors that rents will increase by just over 25% in the coming years, whilst sales prices are set to grow less than 20%. Far be it from me to controversially disagree with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, but looking in the areas in which we operate, i.e. all within the biggest borough of London, I think it’s unlikely that rents are to increase over 25% in under 5 years, however conversely I think prices might go up more than 20% in 5 years.

Also it was good to see two of Britain’s largest house builders produce great figures underpinning a solid market in the UK.

Turning to specifics and our figures in February, there is no doubt that our vendors who were new and competitively priced to the market had the edge on properties that had been on the market for 4 weeks plus, however prospective purchasers new registrations in all the areas we operate in were interestingly up by 4% compared to this time last year and new stock coming to the market coincidentally was up 4% in the same month in 2016. Sales agreed were up 3% and whilst I agree, this is not the heavy increases or great shakes of 2007, we are experiencing a solid and steady market. New prospective tenant enquiries were up 5% on the same month in 2016, although number of lets agreed remains exactly the same as in February 2016. So amongst a mist of report from the usual gloom mongers, to the new homes house builders figures and the consistent positivity which surrounds Croydon, February pretty much played out as I expected and predicted. There is no impending announcements or news that I think will adversely affect the market.

Whether residential sales, lettings or new homes, and for those who are thinking of moving in the sales or lettings market in March, I foresee a confident and steady month and I look forward to reporting back to you all at the end of march.

Both house prices and activity in the areas we operate in defy predictions and also defy the gloom mongering pundits.

There were mutterings at the end of 2016 that the sales market would slow in 2017 amongst other things due to European and global uncertainty and a question mark over an economic recession. I have now had time to analyse the figures from all over our group, from new registration enquiries both from prospective purchasers and tenants and new properties of all sizes coming to the market. These statistics equate to a solid, steady and confident property market, whilst heady political wins whirl around us.

The good news is that new prospective purchaser registrations were up 6% from December 2016 to January 2017 and new prospective tenants were up 4% across the areas in which we operate in. I also noticed that the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors have confirmed house prices are still rising across the UK despite a slowdown in transactions.

Interestingly we have not experienced a slowdown in transactions and our transaction levels in January 2017 are up 5% on the same period last year in sales and 3% in residential lettings.

There has been a new underlying 2017 interest in regard to investment to our areas with Boxpark firmly established, the first occupiers of Ruskin Place moving in and many awaiting imminent news on the Westfield/Hammerson shopping centre.

All indications based on new enquiries both in the sales and lettings market in January lead me to believe that the first quarter of this year is going to be stronger than even I predicated both in the new homes and second hand housing market and also in residential lettings.

In a nutshell, I am delighted to inform all that the appetite to buy and to sell and or relocate in our areas has surpassed my expectations and as I have mentioned, I fully expect this to continue into the first quarter.

As I write this report, the Bank of England have kept interest rates at an all-time low of 0.25% and the economy is expected to grow at 2% instead of the banks forecast figures of 1.4% in November and 0.8% in August.

I look forward to reporting to you in 4 weeks’ time.

Gary O’Hare

Firstly, I trust everyone had a happy Christmas and I would like to wish everyone a happy and prosperous 2017.

Finishing off 2016, there was no slow down across our offices in December and now it is nothing but a myth that December is the quietest month of the year. Those amongst us who have been estate agents for 30 years plus, before the internet was around can remember those days but Rightmove, year in and year out report that Boxing day is their busiest day for internet traffic and it is the second busiest internet site in the United Kingdom.

We were open 4 days in between Christmas and the New Year and this was the busiest we have ever been with new registrations and market appraisals in the interim period at this time if the year and I note that a report by ITV news that house prices across the UK did rise in December amid relative stability in the property market.

I predicted at the beginning of the year that house prices would go up between 4 – 6% and overall across the UK, house prices went up by 4% with the average UK property worth £205,898 in December. With London house prices having grown by 3.7% with an average of £473,073.
It was interesting and encouraging to read so many positive reports about the impending housing market in 2017 and by and large the commentators expect housing markets across the UK to rise between 2-3% this year and most importantly even amongst the normally negative commentators there was nothing but an air of confidence expected. Obviously most of our offices are in the London Borough of Croydon and the impending Westfield Development still makes Croydon and the surrounding areas, the borough of choice and opportunity.

I have spoken to many investors and developers over the Christmas break who are just as excited as I am about 2017 and the Brexit fears seem to have evaporated completely.

Turning to the Buy to Let market which was dominated by the April stamp duty change, it would be fair to say that sales across our group from Crystal Palace to Croydon rocketed in the run up and slowed afterwards but that confidence is back and here to stay in 2017.

The lettings market remains robust with 6 tenants for every property and although I expect rents to rise in 2017, I think this rise will be more modest than in previous years but we will still be in a position where our landlords have a pick of the tenants.

Once again, happy New Year to all our clients and look forward to reporting to you in February.

Gary O’Hare

September was a month of mixed reports for the housing market both in London and nationwide. The Nationwide reported that house prices rose 2% from September 2016 to 2017, the weakest increase since 2013 but this was very regional with London house prices going up by 0.6% and the East Midlands values jumping 5.1% in the same period. The good news is that the areas in which we operate from Coulsdon to Crystal Palace still remain fantastic value for money, where demand still outweighs supply.

I read with interest about the largest drop in asking prices at nearly 10% across the borough of Kensington and Chelsea and whilst I sympathise with these house owners, I do not feel that this boroughs asking prices are reflective of the UK housing market. Some interesting statistics that I have looked at this month are the average price of a detached house in Croydon is £591,725 compared with Greater London at £857,440 and England and Wales at £331,446. Average rents across Great Britain rose by 1.6% in the 12 months to August, slightly down by 1.8% growth recorded in the year to July. Looking at other parts of our group the average price of a detached house in Purley is £719,821 and in Crystal Palace, SE19 is £740,793. Although there are some vast differences in the type of property we sell throughout our group, 17% of properties sole in the last 12 months in Coulsdon were apartments and conversely 71% of properties sold in Crystal Palace were apartments, (Purley 32%).

The governor of the bank of England Mark Carney, gave his clearest signal yet that the central banks Monetary Policy Committee would raise interest rates from 0.25%. He told BBC Radio 4s programme “What we have said, that is the economy continues on the track that it’s been on and all indications are that it is in the relatively near term we can expect that interest rates would increase somewhat.” The MPC committee next meets on the 2nd November to review interest rates.

With all of these reports I am mindful that sometimes eeking out the bad news makes headlines, however I read in this the positive in that there has been an increase year on year out and demand still out weighs supply.

There has been reports that the chancellor who collected 15.4 billion pounds worth of stamp duty in the tax year up to April 2017 may make some changes to the stamp duty tarrifs and I will keep you informed of any developments in this respect.

The rental market in the areas we operate also remained solid and steady with the average rent in Croydon now at £366.00 a week with 5/6 tenants for every property. Once again demand out stripping supply, which has resulted understandably, in landlords being very selective over a prospective tenant. I have no reason to believe that this steady lettings market will continue now for the rest of 2017 but I will report back to you in November.

Laslty, we were all thrilled at the launch of another Streets Ahead flagship branch and 25 High Street, South Norwood. This premises has traditionally been an Estate Agent over the year and we opened on schedule with a full sales and lettings team who are looking forward to meeting and assisting the South Norwood community with their home moving. As I mentioned in my August market comment, I think that South Norwood as a London postcode is under valued, somewhat undiscovered and has more than a few hidden gems including Norwood Lakes, Kilravoc House, Grange Woods and Spurgeon College.

I look forward to reporting back to you in November regarding how the last quarter 2017 is panning out.

As I write this, I am mindful that in a few days’ time the children will be back at school and for many of our clients the summer holidays will be coming to a close. The reason I mention this is, many people always say August is a quiet month for this very reason and things pick up in September. I firmly believe now with information and technology, this is not the case, our figures support this and August being a quiet month is now nothing but an old myth.

Turning to statistics, it was interesting to read that the average price of a semi-detached house in Croydon is £419,422 compared with greater London at £553,657 and England and Wales significantly lower at £203,595. Obviously this varies within the areas we operate in with our Crystal Palace office prices being significantly higher with the average semi-detached house in the last 12 months being £482,815. I am pleased to report that prospective applicant levels were maintained through August and remain by and large unchanged from July, but there was firm and serious activity from the owner occupier market across the board from the smaller apartments to 4 and 5 bedroom detached houses. Although we all read that the housing market has slowed down in Central London, it is important to bear in mind that house prices in the last 12 months have risen 4.9% to June and defying expectation the rate of inflation remained at 2.6% in July. On a very positive note, transactions for property in the United Kingdom were at their highest level in July since March 2016 according to recently related data from HMRC. To be more specific, there were 104,760 transactions which completed in July this year up 1.3% in June. The RICS concur with my sentiment that buyer demand has not changed and as I have mentioned many times, Croydon which includes Crystal Palace, Coulsdon, Purley, and South Norwood remains in my view outstanding value for money.

Turning to the residential lettings market, private rents increased by 1.8% across the UK according to the latest ONS index, however broadly speaking we have seen little increase across our operation and offices in the last month or so. Tenant demand remains very solid with their being 6 to 7 tenants for each property and much as I predicted at the beginning of the year, rents have risen 2.6% according to the ONS in the last year.

Exciting times ahead for our company with the addition of another flagship office at 25 High Street, South Norwood, which if you know South Norwood it is one of the most visible corner properties which has traditionally been an Estate Agents for more years than I care to remember. We are very excited as a group opening this office, it links our Crystal Palace and Addiscombe operation very neatly up and we are looking forward to meeting new clients and customers that perhaps we haven’t spoken to in the past. It’s in my opinion that South Norwood is underrated and has some beautiful Victorian properties together with ultra-modern properties such as The View which overlooks one of South Norwood’s hidden gems – South Norwood Lakes. Most of you will know the connectivity from Norwood Junction station to Central London is superb and I think South Norwood has some way to go for capital appreciation, being sandwiched between Crystal Palace and Croydon. We anticipate opening on September 9th and the new team can’t wait to take occupation and get stuck in! In early October I will report to you the progress of our exciting new office.

Turning to New Homes, it would be no exaggeration to say we have had a very steady month, a slight increase in enquiry’s for the previous month but the investor enquiries across many spectrums from Land to Buy to Lets remain strong and solid.

I look forward to reporting to you further trends and figures later this month.

Gary O’Hare

July across the board can be best described as a steady month both for sales and lettings. There have been mixed reports about the housing market and July 2017 has been no stranger to the usual gloom mongers, so I thought it would be prudent to report to you with some actual figures across South London and across our operation.

The average sales price across outer London South is now £360,472 with house prices rising by 7% in the last year and 45% over the last 5 years, with the priciest transaction in the last 3 months coming in at £2,700,000. Looking at more detailed statistics, the priciest sale in Croydon in the last 3 months was in Fitzjames Avenue coming in at £1,100,000, £842,000 in Crystal Palace in Patterson Road and Coulsdon at £995,000 in Woodmansterne Road. In fact, Crystal Palace saw the biggest increase in the last 5 years for house price growth rising by 62%.

As I did last July and August, I am pleased to report to any prospective sellers or indeed purchasers that it is an Estate Agency myth that August is one of the quietest months in the year and during my 30 year tenure at Streets Ahead, I have experienced many busy Augusts and I have a strong feeling that looking at the activity in the last week of July, we are in for a pleasant surprise.

Turning to the lettings market, there has been small growth in rents increasing and we have experienced yet again the rental sector where landlords have really invested in looking after their property. This has attracted the top rents and once again we have achieved precedent prices in certain new developments. While rental growth across the UK has reportedly slowed down and some report 0.2% over a 12 month period ending June 2017, as opposed to the preceding year, it should be noted that all the areas that we operate in from Coulsdon to Crystal Palace including Croydon represent fantastic value for money, with East Croydon still being the hot spot being only 14 minutes from Victoria and London Bridge and attracting over 24million commuters a year. I anticipate an equally steady month in August across the rental market. Interestingly enough, our prospective tenants were up 9% in July compared to July 2016 and therefore there is a possibility for a bumper August.

Finally, on the 20th of July we were delighted to complete on our new office at 25 High Street, South Norwood and this for anyone like myself, who has been an agent for more years than I care to remember, has always been a flagship estate agency office and once again we will return this premises to our business and it will complement our flagship office at Crystal Palace and Addiscombe with ease.

I personally look forward to working there and meeting new and existing clients from South Norwood, with our opening due for September 9th. I will keep you closely posted on opening dates in this respect.

I look forward to reporting back to you later on in the month with local and national market updates

Mixed reactions with the general election outcome in that most people expected Theresa May to be our Prime Minister a month on from my last market comment, however she is Prime Minister without a majority in the house of commons and some of the pundits see this as a period of uncertainty. The good news is, this uncertainty does not appear to be focused on the housing market and a month on from my last report to you, all the politicians still seem to be focused on providing many more homes to meet the demand in the short and medium term.

Turning to our own figures it has been a stable month with a few spike surprises, one being we had more new house build enquiries both for apartments and houses in June then we did in any other month this year.

It was also a surprise that in June we registered more prospective investors than any other month in 2017, despite tax changes and the buy to let market which has weakened in 2017 both locally and nationally.

I had a quick look at statistics and in February 2016, there were 10,300 buy to let purchases compared with 5,300 in April this year and the council of mortgage lenders has cut its forecast for buy to let lending from 38 billion to 35 billion in 2017, reducing to 33 billion in 2018.

Our prospective purchaser enquiries remain stable throughout May and June with no apparent change in property asking prices and the same can be said for the residential lettings market, in that by and large there was a shift of less than 1% with regard to prospective tenants registering and new homes to let coming to the market.

I am pleased to be able to dispel the myth that July and August have traditionally been quieter months as we are expecting a very solid sales and lettings month ahead and in particular in New Homes and this includes investment purchases.

Before I finish I thought I would give you some interesting facts that 24,261,942 people use East Croydon station every year and therefore it is no surprise that this has an enormous allure for the brand of Croydon. 1 in 4 properties are leasehold and Croydon rents have increased by 33.3% since 2005.

I look forward to reporting to you during the month with some more facts and figures.

Gary O’Hare

May turned out to be a month of mixed emotions, with all the political parties making promises as I had mentioned last month, as we go to the polls on Thursday the 8th, will it be Theresa May or Jeremy Corbyn that head up our housing policy over the next 4 years. Many of the political rhetoric in the last 4 weeks around the housing market has been closely related to Brexit, and I read recently in the financial times ‘’buyers from continental Europe have disserted the housing market in London’s most exclusive area since the Brexit vote’’. However interestingly enough across our new homes group in the last quarter, we have seen an upturn in our total oversees prospective purchaser enquiries and in particular from the far east.

An interesting report by CITY A.M. on Friday 2nd June, reported that Edinburgh was named UKs most in demand city, followed by Croydon at 104% higher than average. Following these statistics, Laurence Hall a Zoopla spokesman quoted saying ‘‘It’s no surprise that we see high demand for properties in the outer London suburbs, such as Croydon, as they prove to be an affordable alternative for buyers’’. Whilst I agree with this, Croydon is London’s biggest borough and I don’t think for one moment affordability is its only unique selling point, as undoubtable that is paralleled with its connectivity and the allure of the 3 Billion Westfield Hammerson regeneration about to start.

Mixed emotions throughout our renting division, as we have seen no increase in rent and Landlords I am pleased to say are being realistic by and large to find the right tenant, however the good news is prospective tenant enquiries were up 4% on the same month last year.

So as we go to the polls this Thursday, will it be the conservatives who have promised a new generation for social renting and council housing or will it be Labour who promise 4,000 new homes for rough sleepers, 100,000 new council homes and locals to get first dibs on new homes in their area, or could there be a chance for the Liberal Democrats who have pledged ten new garden cities in England, all to be stuffed with ‘Zero-carbon’ homes.

As I write this market comment, we are only 72 hours from finding out and the polls have predicted it will be a close race, so I look forward to reporting to you later on in the month when we know who is Prime Minister and who will decide our housing policy for the next 4 years.

I also look forward to reporting to you following our figures and statistics and all local market trends.

A synthetic rink is going to be created at Valley Retail and Leisure Park in the car park opposite Boots.

The icy attraction off Purley Way is particularly aimed at children and will be open from Friday, December 16, to Friday, December 23, so it will be the perfect opportunity to keep the youngsters entertained during a shopping trip or can be added to a meal out or visit to the cinema.

This will be the first time an ice rink has been installed at the retail park.

Jerry Obaka, Valley Retail and Leisure Park’s facilities manager, said: “We can’t wait to see everyone getting into the Christmas spirit on our ice rink next week.

“We wanted to do something extra special for the people of Croydon this Christmas, so to be able to open our first Valley Ice Rink is brilliant.

“We hope everyone has a fantastic time on our free skating rink and I am sure the team at Valley Retail and Leisure Park will enjoy getting their skates on too.”

People can enjoy a free skating session on any of the days it is open between 10am and 7pm.

 

 

Solid and steady best describes the housing market from Coulsdon to Crystal Palace in all the areas that we operate in during November.

While we watched with interest the American elections with the president elect trump due to take office in January 2017, a few have asked has this had an effect on the Croydon market and we have seen no signs of any movement as a result of this election. In fact whilst we are in no doubt changing times, the one thing in my business that has remained constant throughout 2016 is the supply and demand for home ownership.

I was delighted to attend for the 5th year running Develop Croydon on 22nd November and to listen first hand Councillor Allison Butler, cabinet member for Homes, Regeneration and Planning, Colm Lacey, Director of Development at Croydon Council and even a message from Gavin Barwell, Housing Minister specifically for the Develop Croydon conference. It was fantastic to hear first-hand timelines, breaking news, new planning proposals and the aspirations of so many positive people who have already invested so much in Croydon and likewise it was great to see so many new faces from all over the world who are looking not only to invest in central Croydon but both in the north and south of the borough. If anyone has any questions regarding the Develop Croydon conference please do not hesitate to email me personally and I will be happy to help.

As we approach the end of the year, it is often time for reflection and I recall my positivity at the beginning of the year and in fact this has borne out to be correct in that the Croydon market has shown impressive resilience and positivity and in the words of Gavin Barwell, ‘’House prices have jumped 17% year on year’’ equivalent to £53,164.
I note also that in a recent survey that house prices in the south east stretching from Berkshire to the Isle of Wight also had annual growth of 9.9% with an average house price at £313,000.
Rents throughout our offices have remained static for November and I fully expect that to continue throughout December in 2016.

I began the year on a positive note and after going to the Develop Croydon conference and listening to all the exciting 2017 projects and finishing off at Boxpark (which I would recommend to anybody); I am pleased to finish the year on the same positive note.

I fully expect and anticipate the confidence in the housing market for Croydon, the borough of opportunity to remain solid and strong throughout 2017, both in the residential sales and letting market.

I hope you have all found my market comments this year helpful and an insight into what’s happening in your area and I look forward to reporting to you In and throughout 2017 and in this respect please do not hesitate to email me personally if you have any questions.

May I lastly take this opportunity to wish all of our clients past, present and in the future a very happy Christmas and prosperous New Year.

Gary O’Hare

 

http://developcroydon.com/1million-ashburton-park-proposals-go-on-show/

Great news for Croydon

http://www.croydonguardian.co.uk/news/14712092.Croydon_named_as_having_the_fastest_growing_economy_in_the_UK/?ref=mr&lp=2

Stunning pictures of Croydon’s skyline from the air.

July has proved a positive month because my staff and I have remained positive, sometimes battling against the gloomongers and experts who can only talk of nothing else but a slowdown.

We remain extremely positive at Streets Ahead and I have spoken to other leading independent estate agents both in south east London and around the country who have echoed our sentiments in that as long as we are advising vendors correctly and asking prices are not pitched too high which we believe would be counterproductive, buyer demand has remained constant over the last 3 months.

The Bank of England has already met in July and the Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney has decided to keep interest rates at 0.5%, however a cut of 0.25% is widely expected early in August and whilst this is pure speculation, this gives even more confidence for buyers to snap up fantastic mortgage deals from HSBC’s 0.99% fixed for 2 years or a 10 year fixed as low as 2.39% and it is my opinion as long as these fantastic mortgage deals are available, the demand for home ownership will overcome most and any uncertainties.

We concur the sentiment of our industries governing body, The National Association of Estate Agents that instantly following the Brexit result there was a very small drop in demand, however this levelled out in the rest of July and I am looking forward to remaining positive during August. Interestingly enough, July remained our second best month for new instructions to the market in 2016 and this is a clear indication that people want to move.

Turning to the new homes of which I thought there might be a stumble as we have many investor’s both locally, nationally and internationally and also as it is a less emotive purchase, I am pleased that we maintained our stock and sales levels as many investors are still seeing a better return on their money than other savings returns and most investors take the medium/long term view as opposed to the short term gain.

The lettings market across our group was fairly static with a 2% increase in new prospective tenants registering and a 4% increase in new lettings properties coming to the market.

Whilst many of you will be looking forward to your annual holiday in August, both my team and I are looking forward to a solid and positive sales and lettings month and I look forward to reporting to you at the end of August.