With Brexit and the lead up to the Autumn Budget both in the headlines in October, many consumers have turned their attention to their personal finances over the past few weeks, which has meant that the MBA team has been very busy assisting clients seeking remortgages, as well as those who are moving. Our founder, Monica Bradley, gives her views on the property market in and around the local area over the last month…
“It’s not surprising that many of our clients have been considering their long-term financial planning over the past few weeks, as there has been so much in the news leading up to the Autumn Budget at the beginning of the November, and of course the constant ‘what if’ around Brexit which is, understandably, making some people slightly more cautious than normal. However, with solid long-term financial planning, whilst we can’t tell clients what will come out of the Chancellor’s red brief case, we can at least ensure that they can relax knowing that we will aim to find them the most competitive mortgage deal.”
Monica continues, “Lenders are still pricing their products very competitively at the moment in a bid to woo new customers, as well as retain existing borrowers. So, for those who are considering the security of locking down their mortgage by taking a long-term fixed rate, there are still some exceptionally low five year deals available. We are also seeing more and more clients exploring ten-year fixed rate mortgages, which can work well for those people who are settled in their ‘forever home’ and have no intention of moving in the next decade.”
On the sales side, Monica is keen to reassure those who are considering moving saying, “We’ve seen a healthy number of properties going under offer in October, and the market around Cheam, Banstead, Sutton and Epsom is still steadily busy with plenty of motivated and well-intentioned buyers and sellers. The only difference that we’ve noticed in recent weeks is that the properties which are going under offer with multiple bids are those which are sensibly priced; where some vendors are pricing more ambitiously, we’ve seen that it’s taking longer for them to find a buyer and, mostly, they are also having to accept offers under their asking price, as the market is a little bit price sensitive at the moment. But, that aside, certainly the estate agents locally are ticking over nicely and we’re definitely not seeing the same lull that other areas around London and Surrey seem to be experiencing, which is really encouraging.”