I think it’s fair to say that 2023 has been a rollercoaster year for everybody, as mortgage rates hit the highest we’ve ever seen since their record low, alongside a cost of living crisis. However, despite a tough year, the property industry has remained resilient. Of course, sales transactions and house prices have dropped slightly, but it’s not as extreme as what was predicted. And as the end of the year fast approaches, mortgage rates have started to slowly come down, which is an encouraging sign for potential buyers next year. Whilst it’s hard to predict what will happen in 2024, I believe that the market will continue to stabilise and maybe even improve going by the way activity has been for us in the last two weeks alone!
Here are some of our key highlights at Vita Properties this year…
SALES MARKET
At the beginning of the year, property transactions understandably slowed down, but from May, they seemed to increase considerably for us as confidence started to return to the market. In fact, in the last two weeks alone, we have had several offers accepted on our homes for sale. Overall, we have had a great year of sales for our vendors at Vita Properties, selling 25% more homes and buy-to-let investments when compared to this time last year. Hampstead, West & South Hampstead and St Johns Wood as ever continue to attract families due to the variety of schools and international schools on their doorstep. We are also working with more cash buyers who have realised that they are in a better buying position purchasing this way – both in terms of affordability and having an offer accepted. Many of our vendors have been prioritising cash buyers over those relying on a mortgage. This is because they are deemed less of a risk for pulling out of the sale.
Our Top 3 Sales
Sold in 2 days over the asking price – St Johns Wood
This five-bedroom house in St Johns Wood was for sale at £3million. Being a good quality family home in a sought-after position, the house attracted a number of buyers, which led to competitive bidding and subsequently selling just two days post launch at 3.3% over the asking price. The buyer was a London based family who had spent the last three years trying to find the right home for them. They loved this house due to its position, being south facing and having off street parking. View the property here.
Sold via a video call – Golders Green
This brand new semi-detached, five bedroom home is arranged over three floors and set behind its own gated drive. Designed by the renowned architectural firm XU with high quality materials and finishes throughout, a B EPC-rating and being seconds to Golders Green park and Tube Station, it had a lot to offer. The buyer was moving from Germany but was unable to travel. During the pandemic, like with many other estate agents, we embraced virtual tours and it’s something that we have continued to offer buyers, so we did various video calls with her and sold it sight unseen within 24 hours of the listing going live. View the property here.
Sold for a client we have worked with for 20 years – Buckingham Mansions
I have worked with the owner of this apartment in the BAM Estate for a long time, having let it out for them over the last twenty years. Earlier this year they decided it was time to sell. After making a few phone calls, we sold it for the asking price of £1.7million within three weeks of launch, to a couple who were moving from Marylebone. View the property here.
LETTINGS MARKET
The lettings market has boomed in Hampstead, West & South Hampstead and St Johns Wood throughout 2023, fuelled by families, professionals and overseas students. The higher mortgage rates have also been boosting tenant demand as home ownership became more expensive. When looking at our new registered tenants across 2023, there has been a noticeable uptick – almost double. This has meant most of our rentals let within a week with budgets ranging from £500-£10,000 per week. In many cases this year, tenant demand was so competitive that they were over bidding, offering to pay six-twelve months rent in advance and even renting sight unseen in order to secure a home. This strong demand has put upwards pressure on rental prices this year as a result, by around 20%. Homes that let the fastest tend to be turnkey, have off street parking and a spare bedroom or study for working from home.
OUR TOP 3 LETS
Let to a famous footballer at almost £7,000 p/w – The Bishops Avenue
This stunning home on The Bishops Avenue has all the bells and whistles, so we were not surprised that a famous footballer snapped it up at full asking price. At £6,808/week (or £24,500 / month), the house boasts nine bedrooms, seven bathrooms, an indoor swimming pool, gymnasium, steam room, cinema room and a large beautifully landscaped garden. View the property here.
Let to a world-renowned newspaper – Shoreditch
Nestled amidst the vibrant energy of Shoreditch and the financial district of the City of London is this stunning three-bedroom penthouse with underfloor heating, gym, treatment room, library lounge, private terrace, two roof gardens and garden lounge. We acquired the penthouse for our client, before putting it on the rental market for over £8,600/month. We let it to a tenant who works for a world-renowned international newspaper. View the property here.
Let at £11k per week after we renovated it for the client – Primrose Hill
As part of our in-house design and refurb service which has become particularly popular with our landlords, we renovated and furnished this semi-detached Victorian villa in the heart of Primrose Hill for a client in order to enhance its rental potential in the short-let market. By doing so, we increased its rental value by 40% per annum. We let it quickly at £11,000 per week to the Director of a blue-chip company in the music industry. View the property here.
COMPANY NEWS
We added to our team this year, with the addition of Saira Ishfaq, Phoebe Knight, Chloe Tucker and Nouri Alexander, bringing our total team to eight. We have also invested in new marketing tools and state-of-the-art technologies, including a PR with Lucy Tinkler PR (https://www.lucytpr.com/about-me and who promote our homes in national and London media, a video production company Dreamweaver Group (https://www.wearedreamweaver.com) and AI to improve and enhance the business. Our new broker model has also proved very successful and I look forward to rolling this out officially next year, along with news of another office and other additions to the team. So watch this space!
AND FINALLY…. MERRY CHRISTMAS & A HAPPY NEW YEAR!
May I take this opportunity to wish you a very Merry Christmas from all of us at Vita Properties. We look forward to working with you and meeting all your property needs next year.
Oliver
