Recently, there’s been an influx of such sneaky tricks. Our buying agent, Caspar Harvard Walls shared his insights in the new piece all about in The Telegraph this week, written by Alexandra Goss.
Read the full article here.
The falling mortgage rates may be pushing up demand, but it’s still a buyers’ market out there.
Speaking on the current state of the market and its impacts on buying agencies like Black Brick, our Founder & Managing Partner, Camilla Dell shared her insights in The Financial Times this week.
“Some buyers that were sitting on the fence and renting because they couldn’t afford to borrow will be able to crack on now that rates are more sensible,” she said. “We’re also pretty busy with new US, European and Middle Eastern clients.”
Read the full article here.
“It has been an interesting year for the prime central London (PCL) property market. The increase in the volume of clients we are looking after this year compared to last year demonstrates the value that buyers are placing on having a professional to represent their interests in a challenging market.
We have seen a dramatic increase in cash buyers, with the number of cash buyers doubling year on year. This demonstrates that for many high-net-worth buyers, the use of finance is discretionary. The pivot to cash was inspired by interest rates, which jumped from 0% in 2021 to 5.25 per cent today. When interest rates were low even some very wealthy high net worth buyers used mortgage finance, mainly because it was a simple way of protecting themselves from inheritance tax which is only charged on the equity you own in a property.”
Read more in the full article here.
In a new report by The Standard, Black Brick Founder, Camilla Dell shares her consensus to the trends our buying agents most-noticed this year in the property market.
Read the piece here.
Commenting on the property trend in The Standard this week, Black Brick Founder & Managing Partner, Camilla Dell shared why she believes these discounts are occurring: because sellers are being too optimistic from the get-go.
“We are only seeing big discounts on property that was over-priced to begin with or on property that is seriously compromised. Good properties, that are what we love to call ‘best in class’, located on desirable streets and in turn-key condition, are selling well and often at or even above the asking price.”, she said.
Read the full article here.
From Knight Frank reporting that sales in prime central London have reduced by 15%, to LonRes putting the annual decrease across the wider prime London area at nearly 30%.
Our Managing Partner, Camilla Dell, shared a full a review into 2023, as well as forecasting for 2024, in Blick Rothenberg this week.
Read it here.
As an experienced London buying agent specialising in high-end, luxury property for over 20 years, Black Brick’s Founder shared her perspective into she has experienced this latest prime property trend, and how she overcomes barriers for her clients.
“The difficulty is the location,” she said. “Most of my clients buying at the upper price range want to be by Bond Street and their private members clubs in Mayfair.”
Read the full article here.
Melissa York has written in The Times this week that, “Buyers are sitting on their hands waiting. Waiting to catch that mythical sweet spot between interest rates falling and property prices rising. And as they wait, sellers are left competing for a dwindling pool of potential buyers.”
Reflecting on this impact on the property market both in London and the wider UK, Black Brick’s Founder, Camilla Dell shared how half of the properties our buying agency found for clients last year were not publicly advertised – and that has grown by 55% this year as the market becomes even more price-sensitive.
“Sellers can test the market. The more expensive the property, the higher the likelihood it won’t be openly available for sale. According to industry database Lonres, there are currently four properties for sale in London above £50 million and three of them are off-market.”, she said.
Read the full article here.
Sharing insight into a current client of ours who is in the process of buying a house in Knightsbridge, Camilla said: “Its owner is a billionaire, he bought it at the peak of the market, and he put it on sale for significantly less than he paid for it. He is selling it for even less, because he just doesn’t need it any more. It is not just super-distressed sellers who are cutting prices.”
“Dell believes the rash of price-cutting is down to the fact that vendors have finally woken up to the fact that London’s prime property market is on the fritz.”, writes Ruth Bloomfield.
Read the full article here.
Reflecting on how prices are slightly below what they were a year ago, Camilla said, “the prime central London market is performing better than the rest of the UK”.
She added: “We’ve taken a large volume of new enquiries from buyers in the Middle East and the US looking for homes and investments in the city. I believe there’ll be some excellent buying opportunities over the coming months, especially as sellers are now starting to be far more realistic with their pricing.”
Read the full article here.
