Peter Rollings, CEO of Marsh & Parsons, comments: “2016 has jumped out of the gates, and theres been a definite buzz in the air of the property market. Existing homeowners have every reason to be in high spirits after the tenacious house price growth experienced last year, which saw average values break through the 300,000 barrier. And buyers climbing onto or up the property ladder are hitting the ground running, on the back of favourable mortgage deals and support schemes from the government.
“In London, we’ve seen new buyer registrations in January increase 24% on last year, which bodes well for purchase activity in the opening months of 2016. Landlords and investors in particular will be in a hurry to secure their preferred property before the additional 3% Stamp Duty becomes liable on second homes in April. But with annual house price growth in London just shy of double digits, first-time buyers and those trading up also cant afford to hang about either. The Prime Central market has been challenged and unsettled by steeper Stamp Duty, but in lower-priced boroughs further out of the centre, high demand and low supply of properties coming up for sale are sustaining strong price rises.”
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