It's peak holiday season, but in a few weeks we'll all be back at work and school.

It is peak holiday season here in Central London and it seems as if everyone is on their yacht or at their villa. The streets are quiet and emptier but the ever welcome tourists are here in some numbers to take up some of the slack.

This gives a good opportunity to take stock of where we are at the moment.

The last two years have seen the Scottish referendum, a general election, aggressive stamp and CGT rises as well as the Brexit turbulence. There is a consequent and natural element of buyer caution factoring in the current uncertainty.

To my mind sellers seem split into two broad categories. There are those that understand what is going on in the market and actively engage with an agent of experience and those that are still expecting to achieve historic highs. This is especially so with some new build properties. Given the lack of pure investment buyers ,developers are having to discount to get interest on their mid-range stock, (the best flats in a development will always sell well but the generics can struggle unless priced accordingly). Investors hoping to sell on new-builds coming up for completion for an immediate profit are being largely disappointed.

The rise in prices of new build over the last seven years has been partially responsible for the rise in the pre-owned market which is the vast majority of West End stock. A good argument is that property prices are cyclical and that a correction or consolidation was due and events have just helped to bring that about.

The phones are fairly quiet but we are starting to load up with properties to sell into the Autumn and have landed several very nice instructions. If you are a seller I cannot stress how important it is to get your pricing right if you are going to get genuine interest and a successful sale in a reasonable time frame. If you are a buyer you will need to engage with an agent who understands the market in all its nuances to help broker the deal so that all parties are happy.

If you are now fully rested after the Summer Break and have dusted the sand is out from between your toes, please do get in touch. We will be delighted to hear from you.

0207 467 5770