2016 A great year for sales

We’ve had some serious highs and some hurdles along the way 

But Manchester market remains unyielding strong.

Stamp Duty- The start of the year was perhaps our busiest time of the year due to the stamp duty increase in April.

We saw investors flooding in, trying to avoid the stamp duty increase.Most of our properties went to sealed bids within the first week of marketing and achieved well over the asking price.At the top of our list for properties sold within this time was a lovely one- bedroom apartment in the M-One development which received 16 offers. Another two-bedroom property on Liverpool Road that had been beautifully renovated achieved 16% over the asking price.After the stamp duty increase, we spoke to our buyers and found that some had made the decision to be more stringent in their property searches, hoping to find a bargain property and make up what would be lost through the increased charges.It only took a few weeks, though, before the market was back to normal; buyers accepted that the stamp duty increase was just another element of their purchase. The draw of Manchester was still strong, with properties costing a fraction of those in London, and having much bigger yields.The stamp duty increase didn’t worry us, as the investors only had to wait a few months for prices to increase.

Another big moment for us in 2016 was, of course, the much talked-about Brexit vote.

The result was probably a surprise to most people and it certainly sent shockwaves throughout the property market. Although we were worried in the immediate aftermath, we only saw one sale fall through. Much to our surprise and delight, the ever-robust Manchester market sprang back into action; just weeks later, we saw properties once more going to multiple sealed bids within days of going on our books.

Estate agency expert- Since then, we have seen the market so from strength. Just this past month we sold 6 properties within 3 days, with a total of 26 offers.

It’s been a brilliant year to work in Estate Agency and has really tested our determination and strength as a business. We have tried to do absolutely everything we could to instil confidence in our buyers and vendors, and when the market saw uncertainty, we read evry article going. Aspiring to be as knowledgeable as we possible could to make sure our clients had access to professionals who they could turn to for advice.

Events -We also presented at the Investor Show at London’s ExCel in September.

As the only Manchester agency present, it was great to take part- and we heard positive feedback about the Manchester market throughout the day.

The northern cities have had a lot of good press over the last year- it is evident that investors who might previously have only considered the south and now starting to move north, which can only mean good things.

Looking back over the figures for the year, we’re very proud of what we’ve achieved.

We have received several awards from All Agents (a national review website for estate agents) and, looking at Rightmove statistics, we were consistently within the top 5 Manchester based estate agents for new instructions, sales agreed and time on the market.