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\nOur North-West London estate agents have been receiving some very good enquiries since early January and we expect demand to grow steadily throughout the month.\u00a0 After the exceptional levels of activity we saw in the first three quarters of 2022, this year we expect to see a return to the calmer and more stable market we saw before the pandemic.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re also starting to receive new instructions.\u00a0 The first of these is a maisonette in Kidderpore Avenue in Hampstead NW3 which is on the market for \u00a32.35m, an instruction we received after we sold two similar properties<\/a> in the neighbouring building.<\/p>\n With supplies limited, selling prices should remain stable.\u00a0\u00a0 The area is a bit of a property bubble, insulated from what is going on in the wider world and house prices tend to be underpinned by the strength of demand here.<\/p>\n Most potential sellers are likely to hold out for close to their asking price and if they don\u2019t achieve it they simply won\u2019t sell.\u00a0 They\u2019ll take their property off the market and wait and see what happens over the next few months.\u00a0 This should steady the market and ensure house prices hold up well in this part of North London<\/a>.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve been seeing increasing numbers of first-time buyers taking their first steps onto the property ladder over the last few months and this is a trend we expect to continue while the Stamp Duty incentive remains in place.<\/p>\n Rents in London are now at an all-time high and this is prompting some renters to look at buying their first home instead.\u00a0 Even with recent interest rate rises, buying can work out cheaper than renting \u2013 while securing a good rental property<\/a> is becoming ever harder in a highly competitive market.<\/p>\n We also expect to see fewer potential buyers viewing properties speculatively though, perhaps choosing to modernise or extend their current property instead rather than upsize.\u00a0 But, as ever, demand from those going through a change in personal circumstances will continue as people downsize or adapt to new circumstances either by marriage, divorce or changes in finances.<\/p>\nLimited supply of properties will continue in Hampstead and Highgate<\/h2>\n
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We expect shortages of stock to continue this year \u2013 there is never enough stock in Hampstead<\/a>, \u00a0Highgate<\/a> and Dartmouth Park<\/a>, heritage areas for us, particularly houses and garden flats which remain in high demand.<\/p>\nFirst-time buyers likely to push forward with homebuying plans<\/h2>\n
Affordability will affect many buyers\u2019 budgets this year<\/h2>\n
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Affordability is likely to remain a key issue though and the market will be more price-sensitive than recently as buyers continue to look for value in the face of interest rate rises and soaring inflation.\u00a0 So realistic pricing will be key to ensuring a sale this year. As I write, interest rates look like they may be peaking, the jobs market is growing and oil prices are decreasing so we hope that the recent, added financial pressure on households will soon start to trickle back down to more normal levels.<\/p>\nProperty demand\u00a0 to remain strong in Colindale NW9<\/h2>\n