“With property very much in the national news, what is actually happening locally?”

The housing market is not one unified entity. It is millions of people acting in self-interest ormotivated by circumstance and constrained by supply and demand.One of the intricacies of the market is that demand can be seasonal or capricious and ephemeral. It can be, and often is, subject to the external forces of politics and the international economy.

 

Unfortunately supply cannot be conjured out of nowhere to meet demand. Developers need to source land, get planning organised, build the things and be sure that they can sell them at a reasonable profit. As a natural consequence of this the supply curve runs far behind the demand curve, and this is what we are seeing in many parts of the nation and particularly London as the economy recovers.

 

Maryleboneis no different. The strong demand for one, two and three bedroom units is being somewhat met by developers. Developers usually re-work existing buildings or convert commercial into residential. The resulting products are typically high spec and boutique,

 

Meanwhile back in the main or second-hand market we are busydoing more valuations than I would have expected. The market has risen every year since 2009 and was particularly buoyant over the last 12 months. I suspect that this currentphase of the bull market is coming to its end and that prices will consolidate and drift sideways for a while until it decides what to do next.

 

Please feel free to call on 0207 467 5770if you require any information on the local property market, we’d be happy to help.