Will your house be in demand in 2021?

- Wed 28 Oct 2020

2020 has undoubtedly been the year of change, both forced changes and chosen ones. Whether it be personal, business or lifestyle, and with Covid still at the fore of our daily lives for the foreseeable future, there are still plenty of people making changes and that looks to be the case for some time to come.

One thing we at Bradleys have seen is that there is no let-up in the demand for people to move home. There is a huge appetite from home movers to change their home, in fact we have seen more buyers register with a view to moving in October so far than any other month this year, so we feel this will continue to be the case for the rest of 2020 and well into 2021.

We have many sellers contacting us asking whether we have people wanting a home like theirs. The answer will almost certainly be yes at the moment regardless of where you live in our region. It is well publicised that the West Country has seen one of the highest increase in the sales of housing when comparing 2019 against 2020, but what is it that people are wanting now that perhaps they didn’t want before and does that fit in with your home if you are thinking of moving?

According to TwentyCi, a data and behavioral analysis company, there has been a 38% increase in sales being agreed across the South West post-covid versus pre-covid. They also reported that the largest increase in searches were for detached homes (48%) closely followed by rural properties (47%) homes with 3 bedrooms or more (31%) and also gardens (17%).

We, at Bradleys, have not been surprised by the figures published and would add a few more frequently requested features that we have witnessed this year; coastal or countryside views, no immediate neighbours, parking for 2+ cars, acreage and or outbuildings and of course a home office or space to create one. Many of the search features above are perhaps reflecting an increase in people looking at higher value homes, yet the increase in people looking for modern 1 and 2 bedroom homes has also been high, as has the request for people to move to a semi-detached home both from people upsizing from a flat or terraced home as well as those downsizing.

All of this shows us one thing; the property market is very much in high demand. Yes the stamp duty holiday grabs headlines for raising the volumes of people moving but our sentiment here at Bradleys, which incidently is also supported by TwentyCi, is that the release of the market following the national lockdown was the driver and that there was serious pent up demand. Never have people had to take so much time out their daily routine and therefore been given the opportunity to re-evaluate their lives. The reason we see a spike of home movers during the Christmas period is that people/families gather and take time out together and make these decisions – when amplified by 2-3 months of lockdown, the numbers are even greater.

So will your home be popular in 2021? The answer is very likely to be yes! We do not see the market dropping away next year, we see the prices holding up, (although that doesn’t mean you can ask any price you like for your home either). As supply and demand can vary from town to town we advise you contact your local Bradleys Team who will know exactly what level of demand for your home there is and what evidence the market is suggesting would a realistic price to achieve for your home.

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