2022 - Here we go!
Have you all read your Horoscope for the coming 12 months? Have you read the predictions from the usual suspects on what the property market holds in store for us in the next 12 months?
If you have then that’s fine but here are the New Year predictions from David Clark and Company with a particular focus on Ely & District!
It is generally accepted that the East of England saw prices rise by 6.1% in 2021. The property portal Zoopla is predicting a 3% rise in the UK for 2022 and Rightmove are suggesting 5%.
Every estate agency should have had a good year in 2021 or there is something wrong with what they are doing (Oh yes, I forgot about Purplebricks, lawsuit under way from ex-employees and share price through the floor). The one challenge facing every agent is re-stocking the register with saleable homes and replacing the pipeline of pending sales that emptied itself into bank accounts, encouraged and exacerbated by two Stamp Duty deadlines. People wanted to move, and Rishi Sunak and Boris Johnson gave everyone an enticing incentive to get on with it. The demand level for property remains high with COVID the driver for people to find homes with outside and inside space.
Given this continuing good level of demand and shortage of supply then I can see prices holding up or increasing still further going into 2022. The only pressure on the brakes is gradually increasing interest rates (affecting mortgages ultimately and this probably explains why we are now starting to see 5-year deals appear). The other more concerning issue is the price of gas, electricity, and fuel generally. If this is not addressed, then money available to spend on mortgages will be reduced.
The large village/small town of Soham deserves a mention as, wonder of wonders, the railway station has reopened! I understand a return ticket from Bury St Edmunds costs about £15. A businessman from Bury rose from his seat as the train stopped at Soham on the first scheduled service to get his bicycle to then reach his office and was advised by the ‘conductor’ “No, no this isn’t Ely you don’t want to get off here” His response was “oh yes I do, I’ve been waiting 15 years for this to happen”. Anyway, the re-opening is generally positive and will have some effect on Soham house prices.
The impact of the pandemic has made people focus on being able to work from home. These days that means internet connectivity, so villages with reasonable broadband speeds are going to be in demand and those with fibre even more so. I’m reliably informed that Wilburton is now a location where you can specify ‘Fibre to the Property’. The other essential is the ability to shop for food locally and villages like Haddenham and Sutton plus to a slightly lesser degree Witchford are good locations. None of the villages around Ely are an impossible distance from the national supermarket chains there and of course my railway-theme is also in play. All in all, East Cambridgeshire is a very practical and pleasant place to live and the new house builders will be concentrating here for a while yet.
Lots of new homes has the effect of pushing up prices generally as the developers are always looking to achieve the absolute best price and this has a positive effect on the existing housing stock.
I’m feeling generally excited about 2022. It’s my 32nd year in Ely as an independent estate agent. For realistic yet optimistic pricing, close attention to detail, excellent photography, and sales progression - talk to us. We’re fully charged and ready for business!
David Clark
January 2022
Just in case you didn’t see the Rightmove predictions:
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/news/articles/property-news/house-price-forecast-2022/?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=sharing&utm_campaign=news
Or Zoopla:
https://www.zoopla.co.uk/discover/property-news/whats-in-store-for-the-housing-market-in-2022/