As I begin to write this first 2021 newsletter to you all, I can’t help but think back to January 2020 and how blissfully unaware we all were for what the year ahead would hold for us! Lets just say it wasn’t exactly the start to the new decade that we had all expected!
2020 was an interesting year for the property market, with challenges that none of us in the industry had ever had to face before. We saw a stagnant property market in the Spring when we were forced to close, and then heightened demand caused by stamp duty changes in the Summer and large rent increases in the Amber Valley area during the Summer and Autumn.
So what is 2021 likely to have in store for us?
· Stamp Duty - We don’t yet know what impact the ending of the Stamp Duty Holiday, which is currently set to finish on the 31st March 2021, will have on the housing market. Some experts are predicting that we could see a significant drop in demand for property after March next year with most home movers having pushed forward their plans to move in the latter part of 2020 in order to meet the Stamp Duty Holiday deadline.
· Help to Buy – The new Help to Buy
equity loan, which opened for applications on 16th
December 2020 and officially begins in April 2021, is designed to help people purchase a new-build property with just 5% deposit. The government then tops up with a 20% equity loan, rising to 40% in London. The price caps on the initiative range from £186,100 in the North East to £600,000 in London. The East Midlands cap is set at £261,900.
· Brexit - The Brexit transition period formally came to an end when the bells chimed on 31st December 2020, but what is this going to mean for the housing market? Some experts are concerned that there could be big implications for landlords as there still isn’t a great deal of information about what status EU citizens will have in respect of their Right To Rent in the UK once the transition period expires. We could also see a shift in international investment in the UK property market but we won’t know the impact of this until we have a clearer understanding of the changes that it will impose.
There’s no denying that 2021 is going to be an interesting year for property both in the Amber Valley area and in the UK as a whole, but we at the Alfreton and Ripley Property News will continue to keep you up to date with all the changes as they happen.