Honest Estate Agency

10th August 2020

House Prices – An article most Estate Agents wouldn’t dare write. 
Many agents all over London and up and down the country were cheering from the rafters when HM Government poured a touch of petrol over the housing market with a FLASH SALE on Stamp Duty.

Unlike the majority of my contemporaries, I wasn’t so ecstatic.

Post lockdown, the market surprised many property commentators with some agents reporting ‘wild demand.’

My more restrained enthusiasm stems from the fact that this demand (much pent up) was already there prior to the shifting of the stamp duty goalposts.

What remains uncertain is what happens when the backlog of activity delayed by lockdown clears and the full effect of the combined shocks from Covid and Brexit feed through.

Reports of a boom should be treated with caution but there is unquestionably a sweet spot in the market at present.

However, I suspect this market strength will subside which is why I believe the recent Stamp Duty stimulus should have been delayed until the market ran out of puff.

There’s anecdotal evidence of some owners seeking to ‘cash in their chips’ now and sit on the side-lines in rented accommodation and await the tide to turn and prices to cool before re-entering the market again.

Given all the unknowns, I wouldn’t bet against them.