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Market Comment - February 2008

Get honest and up-to-date comment on the property market straight from the experts, with Winkworth Market Comments. We select key spokespeople to provide an insight into their local property market and get their predictions for the forthcoming months.

Alex Thompson, Sales Director of Winkworth Notting Hill
- 020 7727 3227

After a rather uncertain start to the year the Notting Hill sales market is now steadily finding its feet. January saw the gradual build up of activity ahead of the busy spring period,with this year being perhaps more gradual than most. The remarkable stock market volatility in mid-January, apparently fuelled more by sentiment than underlying economics, gave any uncertain buyers some pause for thought.

Lucinda Richardson, Lettings Manager of Winkworth Notting Hill
- 020 7727 3227

January saw our best month ever with incredible levels of activity supporting continued price growth. Overall business was up by 20% year on year,much of which resulted from new business. Renewals remain extremely strong as well,most being agreed with rent increases of some 5-10%. The driving force behind this activity has been the uncertainty of the sales market; those who might otherwise be buyers have rented instead.

Charles Peerless, Franchisee of Winkworth Clerkenwell & City and West End
- 020 7240 3322

In Clerkenwell buyers are most definitely back! Agreed sales are up significantly on last January and February. This upward trend is continuing into February with good levels of both stock and applicant enquiries.
In theWest End we are seeing more stock come onto the market and buyers are returning to a degree, after what has been an extremely quiet last quarter in 2007.

Ian Fraser, Franchisee of Winkworth Islington
- 020 7354 2480

Prices have certainly come down since the heady heights of last summer. September and October saw overly cautious buyers pulling out or renegotiating when they realised the market was falling. It did, however, firm up at the back end of the year and confidence appeared to return to the market to some extent, as buyers realised they could get a property at a more affordable level than earlier in the year. Consequently the fall through rate from sales agreed in November and December was very low in stark comparison to the September and October deals.

Marc Wiehe, Franchisee of Winkworth Streatham and Herne Hill
- 020 8769 6699

The sales market in Streatham has been slow to start this year but is now up and walking, if not yet running.We have noticed a strong polarisation in the types of properties that are in demand: either smartly presented properties with clean, neat interiors (priced accordingly) or those in need of renovation (priced accordingly). Both types are selling well. Those in the middle/average market are not doing as well.Vendors of these properties should either lower their price to attract more interest or invest in better presentation, including redecoration and new kitchens and bathrooms.

Dominic Agace, Managing Director of Winkworth Franchising Limited

We have seen a 10-12 % reduction in asking prices since August 2007. As a result,we are now seeing prices firming up and sales proceeding after very low levels of activity in the last quarter of 2007. With interest rates still low and recently reduced, and high employment levels, there is still an underlying demand within the London market.
With uncertainty as to price direction,many buyers who held off to watch the market are now slowly returning. This, coupled with the shortage of properties available, due to sellers putting off plans to move, has meant prices are showing stability. Therefore, there is an opportunity for those looking to move to trade up within the same market conditions without fear of being locked out of the market by prices rising or falling rapidly, as might have been the case in the first half of 2007.