Local business wins top award

Local estate & letting agents, auctioneers & chartered surveyors - Williams & Goodwin The Property People Ltd are delighted to have received an award in the inaugural Bangor First High Street Business Awards.  Voting was cast by members of the public, in several categories with the offices of tppuk.com, based on the longest High Street in the UK being recognised as: 

Best Independent Business in Bangor 

Office manager Nadine Parry commented “The Bangor High Street Awards aimed to celebrate the hard work and contribution of the many great businesses on our local High Street, and in such a challenging year for everyone it was an honour to be voted the winner by the many customers we have been able to carry out business with this year.”

Bangor High Street has over 300 businesses with Williams & Goodwin being delighted to be shortlisted in a number of categories; Tim Goodwin added: “The High Street remains an integral and important part of our customer experience, we have made considerable investment into our offices across Gwynedd & Anglesey and whilst we essentially connect property to people  we remain confident that the high street will retain its importance in the future to our customers, as a place to meet to discuss their needs in a safe & professional environment.”  

Melfyn Williams concluded: “We are honoured to be recognised & proud of our team at Bangor who have worked tremendously as a team to help people move this year, we believe its our people that set us apart and the experience or ‘service’ our clients receive is what makes the difference”.  If your thinking of moving in 2021 then why not try the experience of “The Best independent business in Bangor - for more information contact Williams & Goodwin on 01248 355333 or email bangor@tppuk.com 

As the Christmas holiday season is nearly upon us, many people will start to think about the prospect of moving house early next year. However, as the evenings will still be dark, and the garden remains rather sad, there is usually the feeling that it would probably be best to wait until the spring before putting your property on the market. After all, spring is traditionally associated with a time of change and this has always had a bearing on the property market.      

However, we would urge some caution on this. Firstly, serious buyers do not give up over the Christmas and New Year period, and can even become frustrated by lack of choice as properties are withdrawn from the market in the mistaken belief that nobody will be looking at this time of year.

You can take advantage of this temporary imbalance of supply and demand by being one of the properties that is actually new on the market!

Whilst viewing activity may be slightly less frenetic, you can be assured that every viewing will count, as you will only be dealing with those serious buyers for whom Christmas is an inconvenience. Buyer activity online is at its peak over Christmas too!  

Many sellers will inevitably wait until the spring before putting their property on the market – which could flood the market and potentially thwart prices. So why not sell now instead?

Also, by the time a buyer is found, you will be able to take advantage of this increase in supply yourself as you seek a new home. Having a buyer for your own property ahead of everyone else puts you in a strong position as a purchaser, with a selection of properties from which to choose in a market of buyers who have otherwise yet to sell.

So if you are contemplating a sale in the next few months, we suggest you take advantage of the situation, be strategic, and position your property for an early sale at a time when demand is likely to outstrip supply.          

Please don’t hesitate to contact your local office listed below for a free “virtual” or “physical” overview, with a smile and no obligation, no paperwork, no fuss in a safe manner.

#Llangefni 01248751000

#Bangor 01248355333

#Holyhead 01407760500

#Caernarfon 01286677775

#Lettings 01248724040

#Auctions 01248753939

©Copyright 2020 Williams & Goodwin The Property People Ltd.

I’m an agent – No need to get me out of here!

As “I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here” fever starts to hit North Wales this month, putting an extra focus on the area, the Castle chosen as their "home" for the next few weeks is just a reminder that now, more than ever the importance of a "home" is at the forefront of many peoples minds.

November 2020 Market Comment:

So far, busier than usual for November although much of the back log from the first lock down has now caught up demand remains good

With two major news stories within hours of each other that are likely to have a positive effect on the UK housing market: the US election result, and the discovery of a Covid-19 vaccine.

We know that stability and confidence underpin so much in the economy – jobs, inflation, interest rates, mortgage approvals, the stock market, general investment, pensions and of course property transaction volumes and house prices.  Increased certainty generates the confidence on which so much hangs. 

However, although the end of the pandemic is now within sight, it won’t be instant, with continued local lockdowns likely until the whole country is immunised during the latter part of next year. Although the economy rose by 15.5% from July to September, we are by no means out of the woods in terms of redundancies, with unemployment 26% higher than it was this time last year. The extended furlough scheme might help, but people are still unlikely to move house until they have certainty that their future is secure.

Having said that, there is a possibility that the LTT (Stamp Duty) concession, due to expire in March next year, could possibly be extended to counter this. We don’t have any inside knowledge on this, but it has been mooted.

Either way, demand for property remains.  According to the Halifax, house prices in the UK have risen by 7.5% in the past year to a record £250,547. This is likely to be a more accurate reflection of sentiment than the Land Registry’s reported figures which always lag the market by 2-3 months.

So we can expect to see a slowing down in the rate of growth. That 7.5% is simply not sustainable and in fact last month’s rate was just 0.3% compared to 1.5% in September. Don’t worry though - this is simply a balancing out of this year’s post-lockdown pent up demand.

We imagine we’ll continue to see modest growth, which, all things considered, would be pretty remarkable, proving once again how robust the housing market is as an investment.

With this rather mixed bag of variables our advice to our sellers right now is “sure – be ambitious, take advantage of the demand, but think carefully before turning down a serious offer from a well-qualified buyer – you won’t want to be stuck on the market over the winter.”

Locally in Anglesey and Gwynedd average sale price varies across our offices producing an average of £220,502 on sale agreed properties in the month (Which varied between the offices from a low average of £91,750 to a high office average price of £277,734).  Great also to see local first time buyers taking a good share of properties being bought.

Our recent online auction was again another 100% success rate and whilst interest had been expressed from buyers locally and further afield all lots were eventually sold to local investors.  Perhaps this could be one side-effect of the pandemic – people choosing to invest in property – locally?

Selling time from sale agreed to exchange is now averaging around 91 days and this highlights the importance of using a professional agent to manage the transaction through from finding the buyer to a successful completion.  Our fall through rate remains well below the 30% or so industry average at 7.5%.

On the residential Lettings front average rents have now risen to £672 per month in October in our area (compared to a Welsh average of £662).  Tenant demand remains positive with typically several applicants interested in quality accommodation in good locations – interestingly with off road parking or garage becoming a popular request.

So, despite everything going on (or not at times!) your home remains your castle and naturally in our view a sound investment.  It’s a role we all love here at Williams & Goodwin – helping people find their home and for now, we enjoy that so much – we are not celebrities and we’ve no plans to get out of here - just looking forward to the future and looking forward to looking back at 2020.

If you’d like any advice as to how the current climate could affect your moving or investment plans, please don’t hesitate to contact your local office listed below for a free “virtual” or “physical” overview, with a smile and no obligation, no paperwork, no fuss in a safe manner.

#Llangefni 01248751000

#Bangor 01248355333

#Holyhead 01407760500

#Caernarfon 01286677775

#Lettings 01248724040

#Auctions 01248753939

©Copyright 2020 Williams & Goodwin The Property People Ltd