Funny Year, 2010!

If 2009 had a sense of humour about it, with property prices and sales volumes both holding up well against all expectations, then 2010 must rank among the funniest of all – funny peculiar that is, not funny ha ha!

Certainly not funny for those thousands of people hoping to have moved by now, or even more first time buyers who have been prevented from starting on the property ladder because of prohibitively stringent lending criteria.

And not funny for estate agents either – what the media has tired of throwing at us, other factors have made up for. 2010 started with horrendous freezing conditions which scuppered any hope of an early spring recovery.

But no sooner had the snow melted and there was talk of a general election – never a good omen for the property market as people’s plans grind to a halt. But fate was not content with that – oh no! The possible post-election withdrawal of the Home Information Pack (HIP) all but paralysed the market. Then of course, HIPs actually were withdrawn immediately after the election and fate laughed again as the consequent oversupply of properties on the market depressed prices.

Then, not only did England’s performance in the World cup make everybody laugh/cry, but it also encouraged them to take their eye off the ball property-wise, as prices slid further.

What next? A vicious budget and an unfunny spending review that had even the affluent laughing on the other side of their face followed by predictions of massive job losses and further cuts.

As we exit 2010, hit by unseasonably cold weather, people seem to becoming oddly immune to the bad news. Whilst volumes remain low, prices are up 3.4% on average depending on who you ask, although this has much to do with inactivity at the bottom end of the market.

So all in all a funny year, and whilst we are not laughing all the way to the bank, our clients seem chirpy enough. We’d like to thank them for their patience with us in the past few months, and accepting our excuses about the market, although we have achieved some cracking sales despite everything!

We look forward to an entertaining 2011.