The Year Ahead - A Personal View by Todd Gaston

2009 was very much a year of two halves. Thankfully we saw the market stabilising in March with prices locally gradually edging up for the remainder of the year - to finish approximately 5% ahead of where they were at the turn of 2008.

This was largely as a result of widespread shortages of new property stock entering the market place and a slight thawing in mortgage availability.

So what does 2010 have in store? At the start of this new year, we are still very short of new instructions at saleable prices. I am afraid amongst less scrupulous Estate Agents the old ploy of overpricing to secure instructions at any price has reared its ugly head again! To a certain extent we are back to a two speed market with realistically priced properties achieving expectation levels and the overpriced stuff sticking like super glue!

I have noticed that we have registered a number of top quality buyers between Christmas and the New Year - often refugees from sales which have foundered. Therefore if you are contemplating selling we would welcome the opportunity to talk.

My personal take on the market is this: 2010 is an Election year (probably May or June) and I feel that there is scope for some further slight increase in prices as a result of the shortages that still persist. The second half of the year however could be a completely different story. There is potential for a 'triple whammy' of rising interest rates, taxes and unemployment which would clearly have a negative effect on the market.

If you need to sell your property in 2010, therefore, I would strongly recommend taking action sooner rather than later and to this end please feel free to contact either our Christchurch or Southbourne offices to arrange an appraisal of your home without obligation.