Savills residential property experts have collaborated to present a property market update for prospective buyers and sellers in the south west.
The presentation draws on new research data to provide an up-to-date view on the regional market and prospects for the year ahead.
The experts start by reviewing what they describe as ‘a year like no other’, highlighting an unprecedented level of demand for property in the south west – which has doubled since the start of the pandemic – that resulted in a 75% increase in sales agreed between January and October compared with the same period in 2019.
Regionally, the outperformance at the top end of the market is highlighted, with the figures showing a considerable spike in sales of £1 million+ homes in Devon and Cornwall since the lifting of the first lockdown restrictions in 2020 at 85% and 198% respectively, and the associated annual prime market price growth, which sits at +14.1% for Devon and +16.5% for Cornwall.
The research highlights the most valuable coastal hotspots in the 12 months to July 2021, which include St Mawes, Polzeath, The Helford River and Roseland Peninsular.
Savills UK head of residential research, Lucian Cook, said: “The response to the lockdown experience which saw people reassess their priorities and, as a result, put more focus on lifestyle over practicality, was prevalent across the country but seen particularly in the prime markets of Devon and Cornwall. Low interest rates and the stamp duty holiday were enablers, and these elements, alongside a shortage of property for sale, created fervent conditions.”
Looking ahead to 2022 and beyond, in the presentation Cook also discusses the implications of news of the Omicron variant, which he says is likely to mean “we have a slightly longer tail to the very robust housing market we have seen”.