It has been just over a year since estate agency resumed after the first lockdown.
All estate agency activity ceased between Boris’ lockdown announcement on the 23rd March 2020 and mid May. During this period no house viewings or valuations could take place. Mortgage surveys were cancelled and house moved that hadn’t exchanged contracts were put on ice. We were available and working from home the housing market entered effective hibernation.
We tentatively reopened our operations on 18th May 2020. For the first few weeks people seemed to nervously return to the housing market and things started to snow ball through June with activity, valuation and sales increasing.
July heralded the much celebrated stamp duty holiday announcement up to £500,000 initially until 31st March 2021. This saw activity surge and by the late summer/autumn the housing market was motoring along with record levels of sales as buyers clambered to take advantage of the tax break and as pent up demand from the lockdown returned.
Covid cases went up through the autumn and this resulted in another lockdown through November, however, this time as with January’s lockdown the housing market remained fully open.
Early in 2021 the stamp duty holiday up to £500,000 was extended until 30th June 2021 and to £250,000 until 30th September 2021 and this again caused a spike in demand and activity through March and April!
As we continue to move through 2021 and as the world slowly starts to move back to normality we expect demand for housing in Norfolk & North Suffolk to stay strong driven by low interest rates, high demand and people leaving the south east as working patterns change.
An interesting story is emerging from Cornwall. A seller who remains anonymous has rejected a higher offer from a second home purchaser in favour of selling to a local couple who are buying for the first time.
If a seller gets multiple offers it is down to them who they sell to. Most sellers are obviously influenced by the highest offer but many will take other factors in to account such as the position of the buyers, their ability to proceed quickly and even who they liked the most! The estate agent will often offer advice, however, the decision is always the sellers.
First impressions are important. That's why your home must have great kerb appeal when you're selling. The outside of your home is the first thing that potential buyers will see. It can help them decide whether or not they'd like to view the inside as well. Here are some questions about kerb appeal that we frequently get, and what you need to know to make your home stand out.
What is kerb appeal?
"kerb appeal" is a phrase often associated with real estate. But what does it mean? Kerb appeal is what your home looks like from the street. It's combination of design elements that can create a pleasing exterior. When your home has kerb appeal, it is often described as being cute, inviting, charming, elegant, sophisticated, or welcoming.
Why is kerb appeal so important?
Kerb appeal is crucial when you're selling your home. Often, the exterior of your home is the first thing a potential buyer will see -- either online or when they're driving by. They will form an opinion based on what the outside of your home looks like, which will help them decide if they want to see more. But that isn't the only reason that kerb appeal is so important. It can actually increase the value of your home. In fact, it is estimated that kerb appeal can add as much as 7 percent to your home's value.
How can I improve my home's kerb appeal?
The great news is that kerb appeal is one of the easiest things to create when you're selling your home. Here are some ideas for creating excellent kerb appeal when you're selling:
• Stage the area around your front door with plants, new house numbers, and a fresh coat of paint
• Plant window boxes with fresh colourful flowers
• Add exterior lights to pathways and driveways
• Clean up the landscaping including trimming trees and bushes, pulling weeds, and mowing the lawn
What mistakes should I avoid?
While it's easy to add kerb appeal to your home, there are some mistakes that you should avoid. These include:
• Completely redoing the landscape. You only need to concentrate on a few key areas to make a real difference in your kerb appeal.
• Choosing paint colours that are too bright or not currently popular. Opt instead for neutral shades that blend well with your neighbourhood.
• Making your landscape very personal -- it should appeal to the widest swath of buyers as possible.
• Not committing to the upkeep of your kerb appeal while your home is for sale. Be sure to keep the lawn mowed and the plants and flowers watered while your property is on the market.
How much do I need to spend?
Adding some strategic enhancements to your home's exterior when you sell is both easy and budget-friendly. In fact, you shouldn't spend too much on updating your home's kerb appeal. Many of the upgrades you can make yourself, and you shouldn't need to spend more than a few hundred pounds to really make a difference in your home's aesthetic.
Need more moving advice? Aldreds has been hand-selected by Relocation Agent Network to be East Norfolk & North East Suffolk's Local Expert when it comes to buying, selling, and renting.
Contact us today at Aldreds to find out more.
The ground works are proceeding well and we are still working towards a full release of the bungalows on this exciting development in the summer.
Call Gorleston office now on 01493 664600 to register your interest!
Back in July 2020 as the country tried to recover from the first covid lockdown the government announced a stamp duty holiday up to £500,000 until 31st March 2021. This meant anyone completing a sale before this date below £500,000 would pay no stamp duty as long as they were selling and buying their primary residence.
As the end of March came closer the government decided to extend this holiday until 30th June 2021 up to £500,000 and 30th September up to £250,000.
The good news for first time buyers is that nationwide it is predicted that 80% of their purchases will still be stamp duty free even after the holiday ends. It is expected that first time buyers will still pay no stamp up to £300,000 as it was pre the pandemic. However, in the area that Aldreds covers nearly all first time buyers purchases are below the £300,000 threshold anyway.
If you are a first time buyer and looking to purchase your first house call us today to discuss your options.
As a mark of respect, we will be closing our offices at 2.30pm this Saturday, 17th April to observe the funeral of His Royal Highness, The Duke of Edinburgh.
An extraordinary man who has led an extraordinary life. May he rest in peace.
Across the areas that Aldreds cover there are literally thousands of ex local authority properties.
They often sit on good plots and offer generous accommodation at a slightly lower prices than properties built in the private sector.
Many of these properties were built in the 1950’s to cover the post war housing shortage.
However, in some areas the occupation of ex local authority properties can be restricted to people who are from that area so it is always best to check with the selling agent before viewing.
From North Suffolk to Broadland we have ex local authority properties available to buy.
A year after Estate Agents had to cease normal activities at the start of the first lock down it seems appropriate to look back over the last year.
As many of our key and critical workers were fighting the pandemic during lockdown one nearly all property sales and letting activity went in to hibernation. We continued to run our operations remotely, however, valuations, viewings etc had to cease and the majority of our fantastic team had to be placed on furlough.
Out of the blue in mid May it was announced that estate agents could return to work immediately. We had already put safe working procedures in place so were able to reopen quickly to deal with the pent up demand in the market.
June was an extremely busy month. Then in early July the stamp duty holiday was announced. This really turbo charged the housing market. Activity rocketed. Coupled with the challenges of operating safely this put us under a degree of pressure but our team stepped up and performed amazingly.
We saw some amazing activity levels through the autumn with offices hitting levels of sales consistently not seen since pre credit crunch days.
Estate agents were able to continue working safely through both lockdown two and the current lockdown.
With the extended stamp duty holiday and a more hopeful year in front of us the housing market is predicted to remain strong and robust.
Here is looking forward to a more stable and healthy rest of 2021!
Although Capital Gains Tax (CGT) remained unchanged in the budget earlier this month there are rumours a foot that there are changes coming in the medium term.
CGT is paid on house sales that are not the sellers primary residence such as buy to lets and holiday homes.
We will keep you up to date with changes as they are announced so watch this space!
