MARKET TRENDS

Winter Property Market Report January 2024

As the New Year begins many people look for predictions about how the property market will behave over the coming months. Everyone likes to know the value of their home, although for anyone looking to make a move it's essential to have a really good idea of what might happen. 

Brighton and Hove is a modern, dynamic city and that's reflected in the local property market. Because so many people want to live here there will always be sellers and buyers looking for the right match.

Even more, the city itself has such a wealth of housing, taking in everything from classic period seafront apartments through to homes on the semi-rural edge of the South Downs. There really is something for everyone.

So as we go headlong into 2024 it's a good time to take stock and then look forward.

Mortgage costs and interest rates

Bank of England interest rates dropped to historic lows during the pandemic, so it was always going to be a shock whenever they inevitably began to go up again.

Last year the speed of increases took many by surprise and by late summer interest rates were at a fifteen year high. The knock-on effect for mortgages was instant and threw many people's plans for buying a home into a state of confusion.

However, by the end of the year average mortgage rates had fallen for 19 consecutive weeks with the 5-year fixed mortgage rate ending up a full 1% lower than in July. This was in spite of BoE rates remaining unchanged.

With inflation apparently under control the central bank's attitude to bringing in lower interest rates seems to be softening and we can expect this to happen sometime in the coming months. This will undoubtedly give a boost to buyers via even more affordable mortgages becoming available.       

House prices

At the start of last year many were predicting a drop in property prices that would have been nothing short of a full-blown crash. This didn't happen.

In fact the market simply stabilised after a few years of frantic activity, with house prices in seven out of 11 UK regions actually being higher at the end of the year than they were at the same time in 2023.

Property sales and demand across the UK were also both up by almost a fifth year on year in December, according to the latest data released by one of the major property portals.

This level of activity in what is usually a quiet period definitely bodes well for the market as we start the New Year!

Our predictions for 2024

As an experienced local estate agency who has specialised in the Brighton and Hove market for decades we can say with full confidence that people will always want to sell property and other people will want to buy!

Of course national-level economic factors such as interest rates, mortgage costs, inflation, wages and much more will always have an impact. That's why the market is always changing and reacting in different ways.

The bottom line will always be that if you can find the right buyer at the right price you will sell, and if you are realistic and flexible in your search you will always find somewhere to buy.

That's where we come in - we find the right match in this two-way transaction and then make sure everything proceeds smoothly to achieve the result everyone wants.

As another busy New Year begins we're back at work helping people to buy, sell, rent and let homes all over Brighton and Hove.

We'd love to help make this a very Happy New Year for you - call 01273 677 001 to tell us your property dreams and then we'll help you make turn them into reality!

Testimonials

  • Cannot express our appreciation enough of all the efforts made by the Woodingdean team - they were fantastic.

    Mr John Mogridge Woodingdean

  • All very professional, kept updated throughout. Very pleased - Would recommend. 

    Mrs Hammond Hove

  • Paula was absolutely amazing!

    Mr & Mrs MacKay Lewes Road

  • Thank you for everything!

    Ms Tucker Willow Close

  • The Woodingdean team were very friendly and approachable.

    Mrs Palmer Pitt Gardens

  • Paul Wilkinson was extremely helpful and efficient. The only problem was the vendors solicitor and Paul warned me of this. A good transaction all r...

    Mr Lavender Fiveways

  • Thank you Paul and Archie, you gave an excellent service, as well as Kelly. I look forward to working with you again. 

    Mr White Fiveways

  • I have bought and sold 7 properties, and this was the best experience of an estate agents services I have found.

    Mrs Shepherd Hertford Road

  • An efficient, professional and friendly service. Helpful and a pleasure to do business with.

    Mr Beddington Brading Road

  • Already recommended you! Thank you.

    Mr Edwards The Ridgway

  • The staff were very helpful, an excellent service. I would recommend you to others.

    Miss Hockly Fiveways

  • Excellent Service from start to finish.

    Mr T Mole Cromwell Road

  • Great service, always polite and friendly. Excellent contact and info all the way.

    Mr Wells Bishops Road

  • I wish we had used you to sell our property! Nice to meet honest people, who are genuinely interested in helping. Very pleased.

    Mrs Porter Taunton Road

  • Ben and Paula were calm and reassuring throughout a very difficult process!

    Ms Easterbrook Bear Road

  • Paula was fabulous and we felt really informed and supported. 

    Mr & Mrs Walker Lewes Road

  • Hugely impressed with Ben & his team.

    Mrs Mead Upper Lewes Road

  • Brilliant. Well done to Sharon and the Woodingdean team.

    Ms Curtis The Ridgway

  • Very professional service. Thank you!

    Miss New & Mr Jackson Buller Road

  • Very pleased with the experience. I would definitely recommend you and use you again.

    Ms D Edmonds Horton Road

  • From start to finish the sale was dealt with in a thoroughly professional manner.  

    Mr Gibbs Lewes Road

  • Paula's role was brilliant. Having someone office based and available was so appreciated and her promptness an impressive service - every Estate Agent...

    Ms Wynn-Jones Baxter Street

  • Please thank Paula at Lewes Road - Excellent service. 

    Mr & Mrs Nuthall Lewes Road

  • Very impressed with all dealings with Maslen. Paula Carter was in particular very knowledgeable and helpful. 

    Mr McBlane Hove

  • I would recommend Maslen to anyone. 

    Mrs Tripp Woodingdean

  • As always, an excellent service. 

    Mr & Mrs Field Lewes Road

  • We were delighted with the service received from all the staff with whom we had contact,

    Dr Crichton The Ridgway

  • Very impressive - professional and friendly, both Martin Timms and Paula Carter were excellent at keeping in contact with sensible advice based on...

    Mrs O'Connor Hove

  • The whole team were excellent, each one of them felt like family. Sharon had a lot of sorting to do at times but coped very well, a true profession...

    Mr Vernon Woodingdean

  • Service exceeded my expectations overall at all stages of the process - I wouldn't hesitate to recommend you. Thanks. 

    Ms Greene Lewes Road

  • Good team. Straightforward. No nonsense.

    Mr Standing Newmarket Road

  • Very impressed with the service. Sharon Wareham works tirelessly, very professionally and is always there for advice. 

    Miss Matthews Kipling Avenue

  • Very good service and communication. Paula was excellent.

    Mr & Mrs Scarboro 1 Pevensey Road

  • A good team at Woodingdean helped us through a stressful time.

    Mr & Mrs Penton Sycamore Close

  • All agents at Maslen were extremely helpful and polite from the beginning to the completion of sale. 

    Mr Johnson Fiveways

  • Thank you Maslens, you were all excellent!

    Miss Jasper Taunton Road

  • Extremely efficient. Nick and Paula are excellent. The weekly phone calls were much appreciated. 

    Ms Gray Lewes Road

  • Outstanding service from Sharon. James is an asset to Maslens & Harvey was so helpful and polite.

    Ms Cianchetta Selhurst Road

  • In February 2016 I was looking to buy and sell very rapidly. Competition among buyers at the time was very high. Sharon @ the Woodingdean branch sh...

    Ms Helen Lyons Woodingdean

  • The sale was dealt with swiftly, professionally and successfully. Thank you Maslen!

    Mrs Lincoln Hove

  • First class service. Friendly and professional.

    Mr Thorne The Avenue

  • Compared to your rivals, your service was excellent

    Ms McGrigor Milner Road

  • A very committed team who made the sale process very easy.

    Ms Rees Ticehurst Road

  • Sharon was excellent - kept us well informed, thank you so much!

    Ms Waters Cowley Drive

  • We cannot recommend Maslen's estate agents enough.

    Many thanks to Paul, Donna, Janette and the...

    Linda & Les Wigmore Close

  • We were very impressed with the Nick from start to finish. 

    Mr & Mrs Smith Lewes Road

  • Very helpful and patient team.

    Mrs Shea Selborne Place

  • Excellent customer service throughout. I will definitely recommend you, and use you again. Thank you.

    Ms Longley Kingsbury Street

  • I found the service to be courteous, friendly and efficient.

    Mr Upton Buller Road

  • Paula is amazing!

    Ms Aspnall Gladstone Place

  • First class service from a first class team.

    Mr & Mrs English The Ridgway

  • Paul was absolutely brilliant. 

    Mrs Tasker Fiveways

  • Excellent service as always

    Mr Field Ringmer Road

  • Nick and Paula are total stars! They were incredibly supportive and present throughout. Thank you!

    Miss O'Haire Hove

  • Ben was particularly enthusiastic and helpful. Martin, Paula, Sam and Will are all hard workers.

    Ms Goodey Franklin Road

  • Exceptional service throughout the process - should we decide to sell in the future we wouldn't hesitate to use your agency. You're a cut above the...

    Ms Windels & Mr Barham Fiveways

  • Very impressed with the efficient and friendly service, the staff were a pleasure to deal with. 

    Mr & Mrs Gill Lewes Road

  • It was a long, drawn out process that the people at Maslen helped me through, without the impression that it was a chore. So extremely professional...

    Mr McLagan Lewes Road

  • Sharon was amazing! She kept us up to date the whole way through the process. We cannot fault Sharon or the rest of her team. 

    Mr & Mrs Ashley Woodingdean

  • All the staff I dealt with were excellent. Sharon worked really hard to complete the sale.

    Mrs Bent Falmer Gardens

  • Thanks David, all very professional.

    Mrs Flowers Foxdown Road

  • Excellent communication and advice throughout. It felt very reassuring to be in good hands.

    Mrs Brooker Buller Road

  • Fantastic service. By far the best agents we have ever used, I cannot recommend you highly enough.

    Mr Field Mafeking Road

  • Thanks for an excellent service. 

    Mr King Hove

  • Superb service as usual, I would always recommend you.

    Ms S Hike Blackthorn Close

  • Harvey was helpful and easily reachable at the beginning of the process and Sharon kept us informed and was always happy to help.

    Ms Murch & Ms Mapa Ticehurst Road

  • Quality advice about when and how to sell, which was spot on. Thank you.

    Miss Coleman Buller Road

  • You were amazingly helpful throughout - a real pillar of strength with a very difficult sale.

    Mrs Parkin Fiveways

  • We were very pleased with services provided by the Fiveways office.

    Mr & Mrs Sawyer Shaftesbury Road

  • Many thanks to Nick. It was an easy process thanks to you! I'm extremely satisfied with how the sale went, great job.

    Ms Mayanobe Aymer Road

  • Very thorough & very informative.

    Mr Michnowicz Waldegrave Road

  • It was an amazing experience, everyone involved were fantastic. 

    Mr & Mrs Knight Woodingdean

  • Very pleased with the service. Many thanks to Sharon and the boys!

    Mr Flynn Woodingdean

  • Sharon and her team could not have done more in what was a difficult sale. 

    Ms Daly Woodingdean

  • Maslens as a whole were really friendly and professional. I have to thank and congratulate Paula Carter for being superb at her job and exceeding m...

    Ms Warren Hove

  • Very happy with the service we got from you guys, everyone we dealt with was extremely friendly, professional and helpful. Thanks!

    Mr Brown Titian Road

  • Excellent service from the Lewes Road branch. Martin Timms secured a quick sale & at a good price & Paula Carter worked really hard to secure...

    Ms Schulte Bear Road

  • Best Agents in Brighton.

    Mrs Field Tarner Road

  • The team worked very hard over a long period to ensure my sale went through - excellent service!

    Mr Patrick Gladstone Terrace

  • Very pleased with the excellent service throughout. Professional, friendly, efficient and no hard sell. Achieved above asking price. Thank you!

    Mr Witten Lewes Road

  • Sharon was excellent, she kept us informed at all stages and was a really calming objective influence in the process.

    Ms Frederick Channel View Road

  • Our local office manager, Sharon Wareham was warm and friendly and kept us up to date at all times.

    Mr Hope The Brow

  • A completely painless experience from start to finish. Thank you.

    Mr Woolven & Mrs Bessant-Woolven Lewes Road

  • Best Estate Agents ever experienced - professional, approachable, competent and exemplary. 

    Mr & Mrs Guest Riley Road

  • Very comprehensive and professional. Nice people to work with and highly recommended. 

    Mr Alderton Ladysmith Road

  • The whole team were very committed from start to finish.

    Mr Pilgrim Lewes Road

  • Very, very happy we chose you, felt right from the start! Thank you!

    Miss Blackadder Coniston Court, Holland Road

  • A very positive experience - I had most contact with the Fiveways office and they were so friendly and helpful.

    Ms A King Balfour Road

  • A really good experience.

    Mr Tibble Lewes Road

  • Graham Griffin provided us, and continues to provide us, will all-round excellent advice. We trust his knowledge and expertise.

    Mr Blackmore & Ms O'Sullivan Financial Services

  • I was new to the area and viewed a lot of properties with a lot of different agents. Maslens were by far the best I came in contact with, so when i...

    Mr & Mrs Heer Lewes Road

  • Thank you. We found all the staff knowledgeable and really pleasant to deal with. 

    Ms Ansloos Lewes Road

  • Sharon, Harvey and James were all excellent - very professional. Totally opposite to what I have experienced with other agents. Maslen have restore...

    Ms Lyons Woodingdean

  • Sold within 2 weeks for asking price "excellent!"

    Mr Grundy Bishops Road

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