Welcome to the latest edition of the Thistleblower.

It’s been interesting talking to my many colleagues who are involved day to day in property transactions in this part of North Hampshire.

There is a feeling that values have started to flatten out; hardly surprising given extremely strong increases over the last year.

So where are we headed? The Bank of England has stated that interest rates will rise but earlier this month voted to retain the current 0.5% rate which has been in place for five years. However, there are clear indications that the rate will increase possibly this year, more likely next.

Our view is that values will remain at current levels until there is a significant improvement in the number of properties coming to the market. There will always be exceptions to the rule but our general advice to home owners looking to sell, is to do so now – we don’t believe we will see further material changes in values - either way - for the remainder of the year.

Ed Mackenzie Smith
Managing Director