Market update Q3 2017

- Fri 20 Oct 2017

Hello and welcome to our third market review where we look back at the last 3 months and give you an update on what’s been going on in the property market.

The summer months have been as busy as ever here at Bradleys. Whilst on a personal level we have been celebrating our 25th Birthday. As a company we have grown from a single office to 33 offices covering the West Country.

I’d like to thank many of you who have bought, sold and let through us during that time and we look forward to another 25 years working with you again.

We mentioned back in July that Rightmove and the Halifax had reported house price growth may be starting to slow.

In the West Country we have still seen strong sales up to the end of August and then as more properties have come to the market in September house price growth has slowed in some areas.

In real terms this means prices have risen approximately 9% across the region compared with the same period in 2016. You should remember that this will differ from town to town.

So the market appears to be changing from there being a shortage of property on the market to more properties becoming available.

This means where buyers have more choice they will naturally weigh up all their options and compare houses against each other, which in turn slows down prices rising and sellers will need to become more competitive.

This is good news for buyers, coupled with low interest rates, it means it is an excellent time to buy.

The rental market across the counties remains steady, however you may have heard about key law changes to the letting market which come into effect in the early part of next year.

We as a large company will be ready and will be able handle and answer any questions you may have. This will be something we will look at again and report back next year as it becomes clear how this will effect this sector.

In the last two reviews we been asking you to contact us with any questions about the property market and we have had a great response, here are just a couple of the many questions you asked: John from Torquay asks; “Has there been any change in the Torbay property market since the A380 to Torbay was upgraded to dual carriageway?” A great question and the simple answer is yes! All three of our Torbay offices have seen an increase in business now the area is more accessible. This is set to continue as more businesses are also being attracted to the area because of better road links.

Michelle from Exeter asked us “What effect will Brexit have on the property market in the West Country?” this was a popular question and the simple answer is we are really are not sure. However, as a company we have been through recessions and many dramatic changes to the property market and in our view Brexit should not be feared. As a country we have always aspired to own our property and with interest rates still very low we don’t see this changing. As a company we monitor the property market very closely and will continue to advise home owners about any changes in the market.

I hope this has been helpful please feel free to leave any comments below and we look forward to catching up with you at the beginning of next year.

Thank you again for watching.