Gravesham property market … What have we seen in January 2023 and what can we expect moving forward?
Here we look at the numbers... How many properties have come to market in Gravesham in January, how many have ‘sold’ (SSTC) and how does this compare to previous years? What can we expect to see moving forward.
The last three years have been turbulent. We’ve experienced Covid, a ‘frenzied’ stamp duty free period, followed by political uncertainty and a disastrous mini budget.
Thankfully this political uncertainty seems to be behind us and the mini budget was reversed, which restored a level of calm and confidence back to the market.
Whilst the Bank of England interest rate has been increasing, with another increase in the last few days (from 3.5% to 4%) mortgage rates are not following suit. It is correct that borrowing is costing more, however there is an acceptance in the market that this is the new ‘norm’. The historic interest rates of circa 0.5% are now a thing of the past, with 4-6% rates now being secured.
As confidence in the market continues, there is a feeling of stability and calmness, which means buyers can move forward with more certainty.
THE STATS
Given the above, we consider the last ‘normal’ year to be 2019 so when looking at the stats a comparison to 2019 is a good place to start.
Total numbers for DA11 & DA12
We can see there has been a reduction across the board, with the total number of properties currently available, new properties coming to market and those being ‘sold’ (SSTC), all lower this January when compared with January 2019.
Whilst there was a 40% reduction in total available properties on the market there was still only 10% less stock coming to market, suggesting that those properties coming to market last year sold, illustrating that demand is strong.
We can see that whilst there was only a 9.4% reduction in properties to market, there was a 20% reduction in sold properties which does indicate a slowing in the market itself, however our numbers show a more positive picture.
M&M numbers for DA11 & DA12
We’ve put to market and sold the same number of properties this year as in 2019. This ‘bucks’ the overall market trend of reduced numbers across the board. What we list we sell. In short, the demand is there for anyone looking to sell if listed at the right price and marketed correctly.
There is no doubt that the market this year will require proactive estate agency to sell homes at the best price, which is something we relish.
If you would like more specific market information in relation to your area or road, please do not hesitate to contact the office.