Barnet Property Market Update – November 2021
By Michael Holloway – Director Hunters of Barnet
Barnet Property Market Review 2021
Looking back over the last year, no one, least of all me, could have predicted the ups and downs of 2021 property market in Barnet. I remember the anxiety of my family and friends, of work colleagues and clients when Boris Johnson cancelled Christmas 2020 and told us that we should ‘not mix with anyone outside our household’. This was a frightening time for so many people and moving home was the last thing on peoples minds.
Following the lockdown in early 2021, the market continued to gather pace and get even busier as a result of the chancellor announcing the extension to the stamp duty holiday. I can’t remember a time when a busy market went to a complete frenzy, in a matter of days.
That frenzy of buyer activity, whilst slightly less as we edge toward Christmas, is still with us.
At the time of writing this article, at the end of November 2021, we are still seeing highly motivated buyers waiting for that perfect home to come on the market and are ready and able to buy immediately.
The summer and autumn months were the busiest times I’ve experienced in over 30 years in the business, for each new property listed we sometimes had more than 20 viewing appointments and buyers would regularly bid against each other in their rush to secure a home, pushing the price of the property well above the asking price.
The stamp duty holiday certainly fuelled some of the buyer activity, but many people were caught up in the ‘search for space’ movement of buyers from more urban areas looking for space both inside and out. Buyers, with their newfound freedom of working from home and no longer being bound to their desks in London. They were able to move to the leafy North London suburbs that offered the cleaner air and physical space they so desired.
The issue for buyers at the moment, and to a greater or lesser extent, this has been the case for much of the past 6 months, is the lack of available property coming to the market. Although this looks likely to ease in the new year, as many of our clients are planning to market their homes in early 2022 hoping to take advantage of the still strong sellers’ market as well as low-interest rates before the likely increase.
2021 property market stats
The increase in property values in 2021 has been well documented by the mainstream media, so it will come as no surprise that values will end the year at an all-time high. But what does this mean in real terms.
In the recent ‘UK House Price Index’ report from Zoopla, they confirm that the current UK house price growth for 2021 YTD is 6.6%. More locally, in the South East, that figure is slightly less at 6.1%, but is nevertheless a substantial increase.
In terms of property sales volumes, nationally, 2021 was a record year, exceeding the highs in 2007 with over £473bn of agreed sales, £95bn more than 2020.
As we have discussed above, buyer demand has been very active for much of the latter part of the year and continues to run at 25% – 30% above 5-year annual average. Whilst current levels of demand have slowed there are still many buyers actively looking, so this year is set to end more strongly than last year and we expect this to carry into 2022.
Tips on getting the best price for your home
Thinking of selling your home in 2022, here are some pro tips for attracting buyers and achieving the best price for your home.
Kerb appeal – The front of your home is the first and last thing a buyer will see, either online or in-person, so make sure their first impression is amazing.
Look at the front of your home, look for loose roof tiles, or rainwater downpipes. Clean the windows, paintwork and the front door, give it a new lick of paint if necessary. Tidy the garden, sweep the path, trim the hedges, remove weeds and paint the fence. First impressions really do count.
A clean home is a happy home – It’s important that the buyer can see your home and not be distracted by clutter, it can be difficult for buyers to imagine what it would be like living in a home full of excess stuff. Be ruthless, remove as much as you can, box it up, put it in storage or sell it on eBay.
Presentation – Ideally, buyers should be able to see your home as a blank canvas, with natural colours, light and airy spaces and requiring minimal work. So give tired-looking rooms a freshen up with a new lick of paint. Let the light in, open curtains and blinds or use some well-placed lighting to make your home feel warm and welcoming.
Odd jobs – Look at each room in turn, make a list of all those little jobs that you’ve not got around to doing. Misaligned cupboard doors, missing or broken door furniture, dents in walls, skirting boards and door frames. Check the silicone around the sink and bathroom, steam clean tile grout, replace badly worn carpets and floor covering.
Flower and plants – it’s worth investing in some beautiful cut flowers or plants as a focal point, they will bring colour and life to a room.
Make it sparkle – Before a buyer arrives, make sure it’s spotlessly clean and tidy, clean the sink and bathroom, fresh and smelling lovely. Add a bowl of fresh fruit to the kitchen, and whilst it’s an old chestnut, brew so coffee, it really does make a difference.
I hope you found this helpful.
If you require any further help or advice, please contact me at our Barnet Office.
Until next month, happy house hunting.
Michael Holloway Partner Hunters of Barnet
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