The Westcountry Market in 2015

- Fri 02 Jan 2015

2014 was an interesting year in property with the market and prices being influenced by many outside factors. The market performed exactly as forecast in this Blog at this time last year. There was no much hyped price bubble as was predicted by others, and at the end of the year the average price of a property in the South West had increased by 3% to an average price of £209,000. The volume of transactions increased in total for 2014 with the year starting strongly and finishing strongly but with a blip in the middle where prices were put in check. The buyers voted with their feet and put pay to any significant price increases in the summer.

So what lies ahead for 2015 in the Westcountry? I think it is a good outlook. Influencing factors which will all play their part include: the election, stamp duty reform, pension reform, market confidence, economic recovery and continued low interest rates.

The year will certainly get off to a good start and I expect to see lively numbers of transactions right from the off in January. Correctly priced instructions will be the key and as was the case in 2014, if a property is correctly priced then it will sell reasonably easily so long as it is correctly marketed but if a vendor wants to test the market with a bit higher asking price then the danger will be it could stick and become stale on the market, which will result in an eventual lower sale price.

There are many favourable factors that give confidence to the early year market with the stamp duty reform giving a nice little boost for those looking below £1m and the thought of continuing low interest rates for the foreseeable future make property very affordable right now. The future for the Westcountry market is good with a recovering economy and reducing unemployment then demand for property is sure to rise.

Westcountry property should be an excellent investment in 2015 and I can see a further increase in price by 5% over the whole of the year. As I said the year will start briskly but as the election nears we can expect a slow down for a few weeks before normal service being resumed by the middle of the year.

The lower end of the market will probably experience a slightly higher increase in prices as that is now more easily attainable and perhaps a 7% increase could be on the cards for property under £150,000. At the other end of the scale properties over £500,000 will still be very price dependent and may not experience the whole 5% increase of the market in general, with another 3% gain looking likely. A very good way to increase your chance of selling in the higher price bracket is to instruct Bradleys to market your property with one of our fabulous new presenter led videos which along with the fantastic drone aerial footage which really shows off property in its best light and is pretty much like having a TV program dedicated to selling your house! The towns situated around our beautiful coastline are always popular and strongly sought after and will always command a premium with that all important sea view but a couple of areas are currently standing out as real “Hot Spots”. Both the whole of Torbay and Newquay have performed above that of other towns and these are areas where a great investment can be assured. Moving inland the continued development in and around Exeter has driven that market on and has seen the most activity through 2014. There is nothing at all to suggest the same will not continue in 2015.

With low interest and mortgages available along with a very good supply of property to the market it is certainly a good time to buy and will most likely also be a very profitable time to buy.

Francis Marshall - Bradleys Managing Director

Francis Marshall
Bradleys Managing Director

The Westcountry Market in 2015

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