Market recovery - three promising signs indicated by agents

Three signs emerged over the weekend suggesting that the market may be shaping up well for 2020.

Firstly a new survey by the National Association of Estate Agents reported that some 28 per cent of members expect house prices to fall in 2020, - leaving 72 per cent who did not.

This was a significant change from this time 12 months ago when some 43 per cent of agent members anticipated price falls.

Secondly an agent has reported a change of mood in London. Nic Pejacsevich, director of Knightsbridge firm Nicolas Van Patrick, says interest in his area has increased. 

“We are having uncomfortable conversations with buyers, the like of which we haven’t had around Knightsbridge for five years. We are used to having such discussions with sellers, along the lines of: ‘the price is too high and given that there are not many buyers out there, you have to price your property accordingly’. Until now, vendors have reluctantly accepted offers in order to secure a sale, and such deals have been largely unemotional.

“Recently we have seen a change as more buyers come to the market. For example, we had a buyer recently who felt under pressure because while a vendor had accepted his offer, there was now another offer from another buyer on the table. Of course, estate agents are obliged to pass on all offers to the vendor but in recent times there haven’t been that many of them.”

Thirdly, Knight Frank has reported a change in activity at the upper end of the market.  

The firm’s head of research Liam Bailey says that in the month since the General Election the luxury residential market has seen “a significant bounce in demand” with the number of exchanges in prime central London in December was the second highest monthly total since April 2014 - with this activity driven by a sharp uptick following the election result, he says.