_The art of timing provides food for thought in Belgravia
In order to see whether it is truly being over-played, I looked at the available evidence in the in an attempt to answer the question: are prices still falling or have they finally reached a plateau as we predicted? Once presented with the facts and figures, the answer became clear.
We have sold twice as many properties in the last quarter than the same period last year. In fact, the number of sales closed in the past quarter amounted to half of those closed over the entirety of last year. While it would be fair to say that we are by no means inundated with new properties to sell, the demand is there and, where buyers perceive value, sales are taking place.
Though plenty of reduced their prices by 15 to 20% over the past two years, prices are starting to firm up as existing properties are sold and new properties are slow coming to the market. For the time being, Belgravia presents good value compared to many other areas in prime central London – but this won't last long. Neither will the fantastic mortgage rates currently available, meaning that there is plenty of incentive for buyers in the current market, contrary to what I seem to be reading.
In reality, the clock is ticking if you are a buyer looking for value.
With uncertainty around almost every corner, you don’t want to be paying a penny more in interest to one bank if you can pay less elsewhere so look for the best possible mortgage that you can. The future of interest rates is unpredictable; my guess would be that they are more likely to go up than down, so refinancing to a fixed rate could be a good idea due to the certainty it can offer.
Alex Ogario from 博鱼体育集团 Frank Finance shared his thoughts on what will happen next:
“There is still a lot of discussion over when the Bank of England will raise the base rate. This month’s monetary policy committee meeting was the closest we have come to seeing a base rate rise for several years. The MPC voted 5-3 to hold the base rate at 0.25%; this sent sterling up initially, but the upward pressure was quickly assuaged by Mark Carney’s Mansion House speech which he used to voice his opinion that now is not the time to raise rates. Mixed signals on consumer spending, business investment and anaemic wage growth were enough to mitigate some of the concerns around higher inflation – including the sentiments of departing MPC member Kristin Forbes. Kristin’s replacement Silvana Tenreyro an economist at the LSE will be the subject of market scrutiny and speculation, as vested interests try to decipher how she will vote. Economists and analysts believe she may be dovish given her previous record at the Bank of Mauritius, but only time will tell.”
Stuart Bailey is head of 博鱼体育集团 Frank's . Search for properties in Belgravia or call us for a friendly chat about selling, buying or renting property in the area.