We have a dream for 2021!
(with some home-moving stats. thrown in)
Well as we turn our back on 2020, we, the team at GIBBINS RICHARDS wish the residents of Stockmoor and Wilstock health and peace for 2021. In line with other businesses and the majority of the country we are feeling slightly battered and a bit bruised, but we are robust and looking forward to a happier year, full of hope and aspiration.
Covid-19 has of course made a huge impact on our business, with our primary consideration being the safety of our staff and customers. We have spent approaching £6,000 on PPE, Perspex screens, alcohol gel and cleaning products. We have become masters in the production of policy documents and risk assessments, and like the rest of the population have come to appreciate the highs and lows of the Zoom meeting! Property videos have become a mainstay in our service offering – there have been some superb efforts in this area, as well as a few ‘howlers’ that haven’t seen the light of day! So, where does all this leave us? How has the situation affected the housing market and what are the prospects for 2021?
According to the property portal, Zoopla*, UK house price growth in 2020 jumped to 3.5%, the highest for almost 3 years! Quite remarkably, in November, it was predicted that completed housing sales for the year 2020 would be just 6% lower than 2019. The number of house sales agreed is currently running at 38% higher than a year ago, with the figure expected to run above average in the weeks ahead. There are, of course, a number of complex factors that will shape the housing market in 2021; not least the ‘rolling-out’ of a vaccine, the developing economic outlook, trade agreements with Europe, and any changes in housing and economic policy, to name but a few.
One thing we have seen very clearly over the months is that the British public can make things happen in the housing market. We are forecasting a busy transactional year in 2021 and as the vaccine allows the situation to improve, we trust that we will remain at the heart of the Stockmoor and Wilstock community. If lockdown has taught us anything, it has shown us that we are relational beings. Communication technologies have served as a useful alternative to face-to-face contact, but have not fully scratched the itch of our built-in desire to interact with people on a personal level. So, as we look to the future and dare to imagine the way things could be once more, we are not harping back to an irretrievable model of engagement.
As local Estate Agents in Bridgwater, Taunton and Wellington, we long to meet with you once it is safe to do so; face-to-face and over the phone. To understand your needs and aspirations and to provide you with a deeper, richer home-moving experience. So, when that day finally comes and we can meet again, put the lap-top down, leave the iPad at home, consign your Zoom-wave to the distant memory of the year that was 2020 and come in to the branch to see us! Share with us your dream of a new home and then, our valued client, just you watch as we rise to the challenge of making it become a reality!
*Source of figures – Zoopla UK House Price index October 2020 (Published 25 November 2020).