Welcome to our third national auction for 2022
It really is unthinkable how matters have changed on the world stage since I wrote my last intro for our March sale, whilst the cost of living was clearly set to rise I don’t think any of us could have forecast what was really going to unfold in Ukraine and the impact that has had across the world. We can only hope that a peaceful solution is found quickly and in the meantime do what we can in whatever small way possible, for ourselves and the Connells Group we undertook a range of fund raising events that involved many staff from senior executives through to the newest employees recently joining the company.
With so much turmoil it is little surprise that many people are reviewing their finances and looking for a safe haven in which to invest that will weather whatever storm may come. We know interest rates are starting to rise but, for those who have been around the property industry as long as myself, we know current rates represent fantastic value for money and are at a level we most likely won’t see again for a generation at least. We are now seeing buyers looking to leverage these borrowing rates and buying property for investment, whether already tenanted or vacant, and in doing so, hedging their position. It is not unusual to be able to purchase residential and indeed commercial property at yields (or forecast yields) that will show 7% return on purchase price and better. Consider also buy-to-let mortgages are still available at rates below 3% the net returns available to buyers today will not be repeated for many many years.
For owner occupiers who are sitting on the fence thinking prices may fall I believe you will regret that decision in not very many months. The likelihood is that interest rates will continue to rise, we are already seeing this, but due to supply and demand, very few think prices will fall and in fact, most are forecasting a continued rise or at worst, stabilisation and a flattening off in the house price rise curve. The resultant factor, if you sit back and wait to see you will simply end up paying your mortgage provider more money every month compared to today simply because of the interest rate rising.
The only other factor to consider is really simple, whilst all markets will always fluctuate, the single asset class that has historically always shown the best return and capital growth is property!
This catalogue of some 240 lots is steeped full of opportunities whether you are buying a home to live in, investing either for the first time, a seasoned landlord or a developer/builder looking for either a refurbishment or new build opportunity.
Our clients are motivated and want to sell. Some will consider bids before the auction so, as long as you can exchange contracts and pay your deposit in exactly the same way you would in the auction room itself, why not try an offer before the auction.
We are now well established back at our venue and have found the majority of successful buyers are those that come to the room. You can of course bid by telephone or via the internet provided you have pre-registered but consider, do you really want to leave what is possibly the most important purchase in your life down to an internet connection or your mobile phone losing signal?
However you access the auction to bid please make sure you have followed all our guides and carried out your due diligence fully – you are bidding to buy and enter a binding contract on the fall of the auctioneers’ gavel.
We are here to help in the lead up to the auction and look forward to seeing you at The Grand Connaught Rooms on Wednesday 13th April. In the meantime and for the auction day itself, unless you buy before, I wish you the best of luck with your bidding!
