David Sansome
As we enter 2012, few people expect the year to be anything other than a challenging one for everyone within the UK and indeed, across the globe.
Financial issues dominate the headlines and there is no doubt that the road to a strong economic recovery will be long and bumpy. I am not sure that anyone has a definitive and workable plan to resolve the Euro issue and so expect it to form part of our headlines for some time to come.
Unemployment levels are likely to increase and reductions in public spending will bite deeper. Banks, particularly due to their exposure to debt, will continue to restrict lending and be cautious in exposing themselves further.
The residential property market is changing with owner occupation falling and those renting in the private sector increasing, often through a lack of an alternative.
New homes building and sales, despite Government incentives, will still run at relatively low levels and yet demand for housing is set to continue to rise as the population grows. This is due, in part, to increasing life expectancy which, in turn, creates the issue of their being enough people working to fund those that have retired.
Against this uncertain and difficult backdrop we look certain to continue to benefit from low interest rates and the basic need for housing and the need for greater mobility in finding employment will become increasing drivers of activity in the housing market.
2011 saw the volume of sale transactions run at the lowest level for years. Figures, when published, are likely to show around 550,000 UK wide transactions.
Interestingly the RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) recently issued a report saying they expected transaction volumes to increase in 2012. I hope they are right but saw little evidence in their report for such a claim.
The private rental sector grew however and now stands at around 16% of all households in the UK.
With all the doom and gloom that is around us you would think that the property market was going to be dead on its feet and that 2012 would look set to be a terrible year.
Whilst I don’t underestimate the challenges that we all face and the impact of the financial issues around the world, I do know that there will be a decent market in 2012 and that there will also be many who take advantage of the low cost of borrowing to make a move or add to their property portfolios.
At Sansome & George we operate in some of the most sought after areas in the UK with high levels of employment, excellent transport links and highly rated schools. These factors are still key drivers of activity in the housing market.
My views are that property market will actually remain fairly stable with the volume of supply balancing demand and keeping values steady. I am expecting a similar market to 2011 overall but believe that the opportunity exists for Sansome & George to grow and develop further and for our clients and customers to benefit from that strength.
More than ever, I believe that sellers and landlords will look for agents that “add value” to the process and get results.
At Sansome & George we enter 2012 off the back of an excellent year in 2011. In 2011 we invested in improving our software that links all of our offices and rebuilt our website at www.sansomeandgeorge We have subsequently seen significant growth in visitor numbers and enquiries. We are also making greater use of social media via our presence on Twitter and Facebook.
We also recruited, trained and developed a number of key new staff and our regular property paper is now circulated to 30,000 households locally.
In 2012 we are introducing new marketing initiatives including new high quality property details and will be utilising the strengths of our experience to stay ahead of the competition.
They say that if you want to get something done, give it to a busy person and that when the going gets tough, the tough get going. At Sansome & George we will be ensuring that our strengths are used to help more people than ever achieve their moving goals in 2012.
David Sansome
Managing Director
