At the end of 2022, The Jewish Chronicle asked Ashley Wilsdon and Ben Horne to give their forecasts for the first quarter of 2023.
Head of Country Buying, Ben Horne “Demand currently exists from buyers not influenced solely by the economy, such as children moving to country prep schools or the sale of a business. This demand is both domestic and international.
The market can change rapidly if conditions allow…although the interest rates and subsequent mortgage rates will likely be key in dictating demand.
It’s a difficult time to predict as there are a number of moving parts, including the situation in Ukraine, the rate of inflation and consequently interest rates. There is still demand for £2 million-plus country houses, albeit buyers are treading more carefully given the current climate, but once these factors improve, supply and demand will increase. We expect the supply of the very best country homes to continue to the limited and trade under the cover of the so-called ‘private market'”
Head of London Buying, Ashley Wilsdon “Traditionally, September and October tend to be our busiest times but due to political and economic uncertainties, a large percentage of buyers have decided to delay their search. Now the dust has somewhat settled, our clients are preparing to hit the ground running.
Demand will be strong in Q1 of 2023, but supply will contract. Due to market conditions, vendors are not under as much pressure, they want the best price and are prepared to wait for that.
This is why we’re seeing an increase in the number of properties we are buying on an off-market basis and as a result, we are having to be more proactive and make more direct approaches than we have in the past five years.
Post-summer, we saw a large influx of lifestyle-influenced dollar buyers, due to the weakened pound and I believe this pattern will continue.”
Read the full article here.