Property Marke Update for Barnet & Whetstone – November 2023
By Michael Holloway – Partner Hunters Estate Agents
November is traditionally a quieter month in the property business as people’s attention turns more to Christmas preparations than moving home. However, it seems that for many this year, they didn’t get the memo, as we have had our busiest month of the year to date for sales agreed.
November, the busiest month of the year?
With more than 30 years in the property business, I’ve not known a November to be our busiest month for sales agreed, yet despite lower levels of new buyers coming to the market, properties have been selling like hot cakes.
2023 has been a bumpy ride for the property market, not only within the Barnet and Whetstones areas of North London but right across the UK. This was what we expected after the financial meltdown that followed the disastrous Truss/Kwarteng mini budget towards the end of 2022.
Market correction
At the beginning of the year and periodically ever since, the media, whipped up by the vast majority of property market analysts, have been predicting double-digit falls in property values.
There has been a market correction, which was inevitably after the unsustainable increases seen during the buying frenzy in early 2022. Putting this into context, figures recently released by the property portal Rightmove show that although the transition from the frenzied pandemic market of early 2022 to more normal levels of activity has been slow, key indicators point to a year that so far has been better the gloomy market analysts’ predictions.
Rightmove’s Key Indicators
- Average asking prices are just 3% below May’s peak, but pricing right the first time remains key to securing a buyer
- Sales agreed are now 10% below 2019’s more normal market level, improving from 15% below last month
- The pandemic-driven stock shortage is over, with available properties for sale now just 1% behind 2019
The indicators are interesting but making sense of them is more difficult as they represent the whole of the UK market, so translating this to be relevant locally and perhaps more importantly down to individual property level isn’t easy and the maths doesn’t always work.
Local property values are dependent on many differing factors, the valuation process is often made more difficult when the homeowner has an expectation of their property’s hypothetical top of the market value.
Trying to ascertain what a top of the market value of a home was is almost impossible, as many of homes sold during those frenetic months of 2022 were agreed at more than the asking price, these properties and the resulting local comparative values will certainly have fallen considerably more than the headline 3%.
Today’s valuations for marketing are based on what, from our recent experience, we know is selling and the prices each property type is achieving. Previous hypothetical values are not relevant and certainly not realistic in the current market.
Thankfully for the majority of home buyers that bought at the top of the market, their properties are their forever homes and will not see the property market again for many years, and the likelihood is that in years to come their home will have seemed like a bargain, as property values are likely to see more boom and less bust markets over the coming years.
Advice to sellers in the current market
Selling your home in the current market requires a clear marketing strategy and the experience to put the deal together to ensure you get it transacted to completion. The journey must start with the asking price being set correctly. Properties that start even very slightly over market value are not getting buyer interest.
Sales agreed this month by Hunters
Here are just a few of the recently sale agreed properties in Barnet and Whetstone –
Russell Lane, London – £850,000
Darlands Drive, Barnet – £795,000
Henry Road, Barnet – £310,000
Northfield Road, Barnet – £685,000
160 Oakleigh Road South, New Southgate – £315,000
To see the very latest homes coming to the market, click ‘New to market homes’, this lists all of the very latest homes as they come to the market.
See our ‘Recently Sold Properties’.
Mortgages
As the Bank of England has opted to hold the Base Rate for the second consecutive time, the move has supported buyer demand and helped to keep it in line with 2019’s level.
If you are considering a move, It is more important than ever to shop around for the best deals, and remember that not all deals are advertised, some of the best deals are only available from mortgage brokers.
Contact mortgage advisors Simpson Bowers, a firm of local independent financial advisors on
020 8275 8555. www.simpsonbowers.co.uk I can highly recommend them as they have helped many of our clients, including myself.
Ready to move in Barnet or Whetstone?
Please feel free to call me at Barnet or Elliot at Whetstone if you are considering selling your home in the Barnet and Whetstone areas, either for an informal chat about the market and how we might help you with this or to book a market appraisal.
You can also use our Instant Online Valuation tool.
See what our customers say – Customer reviews
Good luck with your house hunting.
Michael Holloway – Hunters