June was an interesting month.
It started with the excitement and “feel good” factor created by the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations and ended with England’s traditional penalty shoot-out exit from the European Football Championships at the feet of the Italians!
As I write, Wimbledon has just started and no doubt the nation will be hoping for some British success.
During June we also had somewhat mixed weather, Midsummer’s Day and the on-going drama of the Eurozone.
This “mixed bag” of activity might have been expected to create some negativity in the property market but the reality is that overall the market remains positive and there are still decent levels of transactions being arranged in both sales and lettings.
Sales volumes are, of course, well down from the peak of 2006 but have settled into, what I believe we should regard as, a “normal market” and those looking to transact are able to do so providing they adopt a realistic approach to values which are steady but understandably not “racing ahead”.
The same is true of the lettings market where demand continues to outstrip supply. The significant increase in rental values seen over the last two years is slowing and, as we have been saying for some time, landlords should concentrate on avoiding void periods and having a quality tenant in situ rather than being totally focused on the last few pounds of rental income.
July looks set to continue in the same vein as June. Of course there will be exciting distractions such as Wimbledon and the start of the Olympics and Paralympics, and it is the prime summer holiday period, but the market does not stop and there are still many transactions to arrange and complete.
The “feel good” factor created by the Diamond Jubilee will, I am sure, carry through the summer period and any success on the sports fields will simply add to this feeling. Naturally the economic picture needs to improve but there are some signs of unemployment falling and more jobs being created. I fully expect the UK to move out of recession shortly and greater positivity to prevail.
At Sansome & George we remain totally focused on achieving the best results for our clients and the team and myself look forward to being of assistance to you.
David Sansome
Managing Director
