Appleton Property Update: What can you expect in 2021?

Traditionally, St Patrick's Day signals the beginning of the property sales market, writes Austin Egan MIPAV REV. The market gathers momentum from here, with longer evenings for viewings and the winter well behind us. Of course traditional norms have been suspended for the time being but we will be back to full in-person viewings very shortly. If you are thinking of selling, now is the time to prepare.

We can make an assessment of what is likely to happen in the market this Spring by looking at what happened in the market when the first lockdown ended in June 2020. We can also predict what will happen by the level of enquiries to our office currently and the multiple conversations we have been having with potential purchasers listed with us on all property types.

On a national level, prices rose by an estimated 3% over the year 2020. Of course this rise really occurred in the 2nd half of the year. Supply of property was said to be at a 15-year low. If that were the case last year, supply is certainly lower now. Demand, on the other hand, has held up, and if anything demand has increased. This most recent lock down of the property sales sector and construction has caused demand to build up or increase, while supply has been suppressed, or decreased further. As a consequence it is likely that prices will remain strong in the market for the foreseeable.

So is this a good time to sell? The short answer is yes. We know we have a significant list of buyers with loan approval ready to buy once they can identify and secure a viewing of a property. I don’t recall a time when we had such a long list of potential purchasers registered. Normally many of these people would have already agreed a sale in January or February. This was not always possible so far this year with the stringent Covid restrictions in place. We need more property listings to satisfy this demand. We are currently valuing and preparing property for sale, which is permitted, albeit with restrictions.

So is this a good time to buy? The short answer again is yes. While the market is rising, it is rising on the back of two years, 2018 and 2019, where property prices did not rise. Rent is at an all-time high. Mortgages are typically substantially cheaper than rent. Properties in this area are still selling below what it would cost to build them. Despite the build-up in demand, there is a significant number of people who cannot enter the market at the moment due to bank lending practices for those affected financially by Covid. Our advice to potential purchasers is to have your documentation up to date. If your loan approval is not dated in March 2021, contact your bank and ask them to update it to March 2021. Only those with loan approval or cash available will be permitted to view property when the restrictions on the sector are relaxed. This was the government guidance in 2020.

After a very strong second half of the year in 2020, where we sold the vast majority of properties we had listed, we are now in the process of listing property for the Spring market. For those selling we offer you a Free Sales Valuation and comprehensive report specifically on your property. We offer this service without charge or obligation. We will set out in your report what exactly we have experienced in your area over the past few years and what you can expect to happen. This should assist you in making your plans and allows us the opportunity to demonstrate our services. We have a track record of strong results and value for money. We are looking forward to getting back to normal trading. Stay safe and well, better times are ahead in the not too distant future.

Austin Egan MIPAV REV is Director/Owner of Appleton Property and a long term member of Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers in Ireland. Appleton Property was established 2010.

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