North-London is more immune to price-drops
The pandemic and a one-year lockdown have had near term and probably long term effects on the property market. Charlie Jacoby, the journalist who specialises in the property market for the Jewish Chronicle, was interviewed about the trends in the property market.
Charlie says that the most visible changes we face are changes in lifestyles. Not surprisingly, people now value more highly private gardens, access to open space and fast broadband.
In the retirement property market, flats or houses with balconies and gardens (private or communal) and easily accessible parks are more popular than ever. People still value their independence highly and easy access to open spaces is essential to maintaining that independence.
If we analyse the property market in terms of price trends of properties listed on the main portals such as Zoopla, we can see that North-London is more immune to price-drops than other areas.
Whereas Zoopla reported a national 12 percent dip in new instructions in the first few weeks of 2021 compared to the 12 months prior, buyer demand for properties in North-London has not changed, leading to prices being maintained or even increasing.
In the future, we must assume that we will face higher taxes – national income tax, national insurance, VAT and also increases in corporate taxes – says Charlie. It is possible that new taxes will be introduced to balance the “pandemic budget”. However, state pensions are protected through the “triple lock” so that they rise according to the increase in wages, prices or 2.5 percent every year, whichever is highest.
Retirement properties have sold well during the pandemic, being strong alternatives to care homes. With the extended stamp-duty holiday, transaction numbers might continue to grow in the second quarter of 2021.
The pandemic has meant that more people work from home and can’t travel abroad and these and the effects of Brexit have affected the general rental market. However, the rental market for retirement property has remained strong and property prices have remained surprisingly stable.
In one of his articles in the New Homes and Interiors supplement of The Jewish Chronicle, Charlie Jacoby suggests: "as taxes increase and the economy potentially catches its own COVID virus, you may wish you had sold your house or flat at the beginning of 2021."