So who are the main players in the market?

Adam Keville says, “Buyers from Russia and the Far East dominated the market in 2011, but the picture is becoming more varied with buyers from India, China, America, Africa and Europe all wanting to buy some security in what they consider to be an uncertain economic world. The Australians too have become significant players on the London property stage; encouraged by a good exchange rate, a strong economy, and easier borrowing criteria.

“Australian investment buyers are concentrating their purchasing power on City oriented warehouse conversions, lofts, contemporary living, that attract the City slicker type tenant profile. Typically spending £800,000 – £1.5m, they are adept at quickly identifying the bottom line and making a speedy business decision.”

The domestic market too has had a surge of activity since the beginning of March. “There’s still a great deal of overpriced property languishing on the market,” says Adam Keville, “But the right house in the right place at the right price is selling very very quickly indeed. Many property owners who have grown out of their existing home will continue the trend of extending rather than moving; but some property simply isn’t suitable to extend, and there are plenty of people who need to move for reasons other than too little space. There’s a strong domestic market in areas just outside prime central London, Balham for instance has already seen price increases of c. 5% in 2012.

“Whether these levels of activity and enthusiasm will continue is of course a different matter. Summer is never a great time for the London market, and this year is likely to be quieter than ever as the capital is taken over by Olympic fever. But there’s the likelihood that investors may combine a trip to the Olympics with a quick in-and-out buying exercise. It will be the buying and selling agents that are on their toes that make hay in these circumstances; agents who shut up shop and put their feet up to watch the beach volleyball will miss the real action.”

Stacks has 18 offices throughout the UK.

London office: 020 7385 4101; www.stacks-london.co.uk

The fact is agents are battling more than ever to obtain quality stock, knowing full well that once on their books they will sell, and more importantly they will sell well!

Overall, the prime London market has seen a sharp fall in quality instructions compared to last year, and to add insult to injury, aggressive agency practice has led to inflated asking figures from less than motivated vendors.

So where does this leave purchasers?

Well, with the uncertainty from the financial markets forecast for the foreseeable future, and interest rates set to continue to stay relatively low for the next 6 months at least, the ultimate frustration continues to lie with motivated able buyers.

The truth is that the overseas investors have played a significant role in dominating the market for the third year in succession. However, time will tell on how prolific this interest remains in light of the recent global financial stresses. Foreign currency, whilst slightly weakened, still appears to be dominant over domestic currencies and whilst that continues the window of opportunity is still open in London.

Equally the domestic market including both private and investment purchasers are joining in the competition. Some private buyers have taken the leap, in spite of the escalating 8% to 10% average moving costs, to realise their equity and domestic cash investors have started speculating in the absence of other financial investment opportunities.

With this much one sided action, it really is only the robust, motivated and well informed purchasers who will win the day! That is why Stacks Property Search and Acquisition, and the services that we provide to our clients, is so essential in this market. Our clients repeatedly realise our contribution and value as retained buying agents. As a company we pride ourselves in our well-earned market relationship with London agents, which in itself, has played an enormous part in sourcing and securing properties over the last few years. Accessibility to brand new instructions and dedicated and constructive monitoring of excess, overpriced property has helped us position our clients at all levels of the market, in spite of the constant third party influences and market indicators.

There are speculators that whisper ‘a change in the air’ for this market but for the meantime, whilst there is fear and confusion, we see opportunities. It’s knowing where to look.

Estate agents all confirm that prime residential property in London is in hot demand. We agree, and continually see that much of this demand is being driven from the overseas investment sector. The lack of quality stock, cheaper sterling, along with frustrated domestic and overseas purchasers being more aggressive in their bids to win a property, is making it hard to realistically think that this cycle will not continue well into the next quarter of this year.

This type of market has been seen before but restricted to certain types and values of property at any one time. However, this year so far we have seen the severe shortage of stock is affecting the market across the spectrum as owner occupiers struggle to find their next onward move, and investors hold on to their stock for long term growth. Leading agents have now reported a sharp rise in the volume of sales in their first quarter of this year compared to 2010, some even confirming as much as a 47% increase in some areas.

Whilst on the face of it this may deter some purchasers, especially in the local domestic sector, others will and should see this as a good opportunity to be involved. The simple reason is that investors are starting to enjoy higher yields in existing investments, 3.5% to 4% net and higher, as rental values have been increasing at a fast rate (as much as 20% in some areas) whilst also seeing appreciating capital growth. In our view it is crucial, that whilst London continues to shun the trend of the rest of the country, that good advice and representation is sought to allow access to precious new stock and more importantly securing it amid fierce competition. It can be very easy to get carried away in bidding wars and against heavy competition but equally fall throughs are becoming more common now as when the date of exchange looms, buyers suddenly realise they may be paying a high price for their property. It is key therefore to have cool headed advice to ensure that this does not happen.

As we welcome the New Year in estate agents, sellers and buyers alike are holding their breath to see what the next few months will bring. With a hangover from last year’s negative press, together with this year’s news of higher VAT rates, the on-going knock on effect of the new government’s cut backs and general uncertainty about the economic instability of the country, it would be easy to assume that the market would be quiet.

However, there are several factors which give Stacks London reason to believe that the market will in fact be very active in the opening quarter of 2011. Our conclusions are based on previous year’s market behaviour when confronted with the interruption of additional public holidays and planned tax increases.  A good example of this is the two four day weekends in April, which we believe could well induce an early summer break. The arrival of the new stamp duty threshold of 5% on all purchases over £1m on the 6^th April may well entice domestic investors to buy before this date.  We should also not forget the continued interest and activity from the overseas investors (such as Australia, America, Hong Kong, China and Singapore) all of whom continue to fuel the prime central London market.

Therefore, depending on the amount of new quality instructions coming to the prime residential London market, we believe that these next three months could prove an advantageous time to make a purchase. Stacks London do not necessarily feel that general prices will rise over the next few months, but we do believe that without proper representation and advice, it could be potentially easy to miss out on some fantastic properties coming to the market. In an active market it is very easy to become carried away with the sense of urgency which is often felt with buyers snapping up properties quickly, but it is important to keep a cool head and proceed with caution.

If you are thinking of buying a property in London and feel that using a buying agent could be beneficial to you, please do not hesitate to contact either Adam Keville (London@stacks.co.uk) or Sara Ransom (Sransom@stacks.co.uk) or on 02073854101.

We would like to take this opportunity to wish all of our clients- past, present, and future a happy and successful New Year.

After a seasonally quiet summer, estate agents’ anticipation of a busy and active Autumn market has been dampened by the impending ‘spending review’ cuts due to be announced and the possible resulting implications. Buyers are understandably cautious as there may be more economic difficulties to come. However, in spite of this, there are signs that some domestic buyers are now returning to the market, many having regained equity in their property and therefore now being able to put a larger deposit together.  This also of course means that there is an increase of stock coming to the market, arguably resulting in a market swing back in the buyer’s favour. Rare quality stock is still proving to be fast moving and more difficult to gain access to for the general buyer as HIP’s have been placed on hold. Estate agents are therefore now able to offer properties on a ‘marketing quietly’ basis, as vendors test the market before committing. As buying agents, our focus is to ensure that our well established and vital network with of all estate agents throughout London, as well as private contacts are being monitored constantly in order to ensure that our clients are the first through the door of the properties which are not being fully marketed, and this has proved invaluable with our last few purchases.

With mortgage lenders still being extremely cautious, estate agents often favour buying agents’ clients in both competitive bidding situations and also in more general circumstances when offering, as they understand that a buyer using a property search agent is obviously fully committed and will also have a favoured position for their purchase as well as having the legal, and professional contacts such as solicitors, financial advisers,  and surveyors needed to ensure a smooth and as well informed transaction .

With regard to property prices, we envisage a plateau effect across London over the next couple of months and up until the end of the year whilst domestic buyers attempt to make the leap after having held off for some time. Therefore, in our opinion buying a property in this autumnal period could be a shrewd move as long as the expertise, experience and advice are all in place and considered carefully.

If you are considering purchasing a property and would like some advice and more information about our services, please do not hesitate to contact either Adam Keville or Sara Ransom on 020 7385 4101 or london@stacks.co.uk 

Estate agents appear to be in agreement that a little more stock has come on to the market, owing to the HIP (home information Pack) being put on hold, along with the elections and budgets having been announced. Domestic buyers in Central London still appear to be a ghost of the past, although those whom have held on as long as they can are now looking to move- those with expanding families for example who look to have their move accomplished before the start of the next school term.

Overall however, there is still a general consensus that the right property at the right price and in the right location is still being snapped up at an alarming rate. With HIP’s on hold, it is now more difficult for buyers to ensure that they are getting in through every door. It is hugely time consuming to ‘become friends’ with all of the agents in any one area in London, and therefore buying agents are finding that more clients are coming to them with the hope that they will enable them to get in through these doors. Stacks London has been very successful in this area recently and continues to be. It takes many years of building business relationships and also knowing exactly how to ensure that everything is in the right place to secure any purchases, and having a good buying agent with experience, knowledge and also the contact lists is imperative in finding the correct property and being ahead of the game.

If you would like any further information, please do not hesitate to contact either Adam Keville or Sara Ransom on the e-mail addresses or telephone numbers above.

Over the last month, overseas and domestic purchasers and vendors, have all held their breath whilst the results of the election and also of the economic crisis in Greece had yet to be revealed. There was a severe lack of new stock coming to the market and overseas clients chose to hold out until they could see where sterling would establish itself. We are now already feeling a sense of relief from all sides, with overseas investors continuing to perceive the London market as having good potential growth, and also gradually more properties coming to the market as home owners seek to make a move over the summer months in order to be settled in time for Autumn.

The last quarter has also seen a stabilising of rental yields, with a general consensus across most estate agents that a gross yield of  approximately 4% should be considered reasonable at this time.

Therefore we expect a busy summer market ahead, with overseas investors continuing to take advantage of the weaker sterling, and domestic buyers gradually having realised some of the equity in their properties therefore enabling them to make the onward purchase. This has been encouraged by gradually relaxing bank lending policies.

At Stacks London, we feel that more property will continue to come to the market over the next few months, therefore releasing the bottle neck which currently grips the prime central London market. However, whilst we do not see enough new stock coming to the market to satiate current demand, we do believe that prices should settle a little more with only slight rises of 2%-3%towards the end of the year.

If you would like expert and experienced help and advice during these difficult times and in order to be more confident of where and how to proceed with your purchase, please do not hesitate to contact the Stacks London office on 0207 3854101. Or London@stacks.co.uk

Whilst buyers are having to be understandably cautious, due largely to vendors asking high prices and speculating the market. There are still many instances of ‘sealed bids’ and even ‘gazumping’ across London.  Agents are cautious however as to how much this will increase prices- most suggest 5%-10% maximum by the end of the year as the prices become less tempting for the foreign buyers, and only those buyers with large deposits are able to obtain attractive mortgage rates.

The Bank of England has again held interest rates to encourage growth in other financial sectors of the country, which will hopefully encourage banks to become more competitive with their lending. Although this is unlikely to change radically in the near future, particularly with the looming general election.

We maintain the necessity of using a buying agent  in order to view properties as soon as they come on to the market, and to know what and how to offer. Stacks London has a well established network of contacts across the industry as well as the knowledge on how to negotiate on our clients behalf and put them in the strongest position to buy and to secure properties throughout this turbulent time.

If you have any questions or would like any information about our services, please do not hesitate to contact Adam Keville or Sara Ransom on 020 7385 4101 or London@Stacks.co.uk

Buyers are still proceeding with caution, particularly after price rises in the last 6 months despite a still fragile economy. Stacks London are becoming increasingly important to buyers, as agents offer properties which are not yet on to the market- giving our clients an advantage.  It is also key to have the correct advice on the area, the price and buying a property which has as many positive points as possible in order for future re-sale to be as un-compromised as possible.

However, we still recommend proceeding with caution- the estate agents are having to be highly competitive in order to win their instructions, therefore causing the asking prices to be inflated further. The next few weeks will be vital in order to ascertain whether these prices will be sustainable, or in fact a little caution from buyers will level the rises slightly.

Finding the time to view properties at the moment, appears to be another reason for clients to come to buying agents with it being the beginning of the year and many people having particularly large workloads, it can be very frustrating finding the time to view properties which then do not fit the criteria previously outlined to the agents.

If you are finding it hard to fit in the viewings around work, or that you are not managing to view properties in time, or if you are finding that you are not sure of the area you are looking in, then this may be the moment to employ a buying agent who can help advise and manage your complete search for you.

For any enquiries, please contact either Adam Keville  or Sara Ransom on 020 7385 4101 or London@Stacks.co.uk

Potential receivers of city bonuses are beginning to speculate the market, with a view to buying in the New Year once the figures have been released.  There is a general feeling amongst buyers that there might well be an increase of property throughout the market for 2010 which traditionally has been the case. There is very little to indicate that this will necessarily be the case according to the estate agents. With a large majority of estate agents continuously  having to fight for instructions , it is likely that the prices may be inflated  further, and therefore proceeding with caution will be an essential part of considering offering  and purchasing during the first couple of months of 2010.

We hope that outside influences such as a continued fall in inflation, mortgage lending become a little easier, and some recovered equity in property will begin to reassure buyers and are likely to bring more buyers but also more property to the market.

To summarise, it is likely that there will be a continued rise unless there is a deluge of stock to the market , but it is unlikely that this will be at the same rate as we have seen in the last 6 months. Our advice as always,  to proceed with caution ensuring that the correct and professional advice has been sought.

If you would like any advice on purchasing a property in London or would like to have thorough professional and experienced advice and representation on your purchase, please do not hesitate to contact either Adam Keville or Sara Ransom either by e-mail, or on the telephone numbers above.

We would like to take this opportunity to wish our clients and prospective clients a very happy Christmas and a successful New Year.