Current situation (2006)

At the start of this year we were surprised at the strong levels of activity. First time buyers were still relatively thin on the ground, but no surprises there. The biggest feature throughout the year has been a marked shortage of property for sale - here at LS&M our stock levels have been at half the norm. This shortage has squeezed prices upwards through the year to the tune of 5 to 10%. The dark winter evenings are now with us and we expect only modest activity levels until the new year.   

What is our prediction for 2007?

We foresee a relatively stable market in the new year with realistic pricing being the key to achieving a sale.  The market in Windsor is built on solid foundations and, whilst there will always be blips and periods of uncertainty, we expect to see a small to moderate overall increase in values. But don’t hold us to it!!
The introduction of HIP’s next year (see article below) will impact heavily on the market and we can only guess at this stage how things will pan out. Some economists are suggesting that the growth in house prices over the last ten years has been heavily influenced by the unrealistic expectation that price rises will continue to rise at rates significantly ahead of inflation. They argue that a sharp fall in prices is a real possibility in the relatively near future.

Who's right? Watch this space!

If you would like more information you can visit the web site of the National Association of Estate Agents.