The 2023 property market has started very actively, following a quieter few months at the tail end of 2022. Our Wareham office has 58% more buyers registered on our database compared with a year ago, and twice as many available properties for sale. This shows that the market is very active, despite the newspaper headlines. The reality is, people still need a home and those who need to buy or sell are not being held back by the interest rate rises, the cost of living crisis and an economy teetering on the edge of a recession. They are prepared to take a long-term view for their family home.

The number of buyers registered for each available property has marginally declined, with the ratio falling from 34 buyers to 27 buyers in the past year. That said, every new instruction is attracting a healthy amount of interest and most properties are being agreed within a few weeks and meeting our 13-week average conveyancing period.

THE THREE DS

We have busy diaries with plenty of market valuations booked for the coming weeks. There are many sellers who are motivated to get their property on the market as soon as possible. The three Ds – divorce, debt and death – and of course those needing to trade-up to accommodate a growing family, will always represent a good proportion of the market. Interestingly however, we are seeing an increase in the number of long-term landlords now making the decision to exit the private rental sector as well as an increase in investors leaving the holiday-let market. Having had their margins squeezed in recent years, and with the impending changes to Capital Gains Tax, both long- and short-term landlords are choosing to cash in their property-chips. Despite this, our sales team are still registering plenty of buy-to-let investors, which makes us confident that a large percentage of these sold rental properties will be replaced with new opportunities for tenants. These potential landlords are seeking a safe investment class in a market that has seen a 4.4% rent increase (in the year to December 2022 in Southwest England, according to the ONS) and an even higher annual capital growth.