The Surrey property market in March, April, and May of 2019 was a busy period for Cobham, Hinchley Wood, Claygate and Woking estate agents. The traditional Easter and May Bank Holiday spike in activity was set against a backdrop of stabilised house prices, affordable mortgages and Brexit malaise, which combined to keep the Grosvenor phones ringing.
Politics: powering Surrey property for sale?
With two Brexit deadlines set and surpassed, Surrey estate agents including Grosvenor noticed that home movers were growing tired of waiting for an EU resolution. Pent-up moving demand was released during March, April and May 2019, injecting interest and new properties into the Surrey market.
As for the immediate future, Claygate, Cobham, Woking, and Hinchley Wood estate agents are bracing themselves for an uptick of activity. With a new Brexit deadline of 31st October 2019, movers have noted that if they come to market now and make an offer on a Surrey property for sale in the next month or two, they can exchange and complete well before the revised deadline.
House prices: steady in Surrey
The Nationwide reported that annual house price growth remained below 1% for the sixth month in a row in May 2019, pegged at 0.6%, and Grosvenor’s Surrey estate agents would agree that the county’s house prices are stable too. We continued to see property values hold across Cobham, Hinchley Wood, Woking, and Claygate - in part due to restricted supply but also because these areas remain coveted, whatever the wider property market conditions.
Low mortgages rates remained a moving incentive
The mortgage market remained attractive during the spring months, with lenders competing for business by offering reduced rates and financial incentives to both purchasers and buy-to-let investors. The latest data and analysis from residential chartered surveyors, e.surv, showed that mortgage lending in April 2019 was above the figure agreed in April 2018.
Mortgages rates look to remain low during the summer months, with a number of fixed, variable and tracker deals available for all types of buyers.
Groundwork for new lettings legislation
Grosvenor, like the rest of Surrey lettings specialists, spent the spring months preparing for a number of changes to the rental sector. The new Tenant Act, which came in to effect on 1st June 2019, has resulted in letting agents in Surrey following a new set of guidelines.
The biggest change has been the abolishment of most fees that were charged to tenants but there has also been a cap placed on tenancy deposits and holding/reservation deposits. We’d be delighted to explain how the changes will affect Surrey tenants and landlords this coming summer.