Local Estate Agency reinforces its numbers to cope with demand from buyers looking to escape to the country

Regardless of the wider economic picture it would seem that the property sector might have bounced back well and Nock Deighton has worked hard to be in the best position for their staff and their clients.

Shropshire and Worcestershire based estate agents Nock Deighton have been busy recruiting in the past few months in order to meet the demands of a busy property market.  Since April the long established firm has recruited 10 new members of staff to work throughout the company.

Nock Deighton’s Chairman, Michael Nettleton says: “So far 2020 has been a challenging year for many reasons however, the strategic decisions we have made over the last couple of years along with the conscious decision to invest heavily in our staff training has put us in a strong position.” 

The beginning of the year looked very different to how it does now he says; “Early in the year we had anticipated that 2020 might have been the best year on record however lockdown inevitably disrupted all areas of life and presented obstacles which we were determined to overcome.  We successfully maintained the momentum we had and now we are building on that with some vigour; whatever the market throws at us next we have to be prepared and we can only do that with a full complement of staff.”

“At the beginning of lockdown I made a commitment to all of our workforce that we would do everything in our power to secure their jobs for the future.  Loyalty works both ways and I am incredibly proud of the work our teams are doing in such challenging circumstances; it’s really quite humbling.”

Buyer activity has proven to be extremely strong despite the climate. In July, Nock Deighton saw the number of viewings on properties leap from 750 in July 2019 to over 1100.  These viewings resulted in over £110,602,341 in offers which is an unprecedented level for the company, now in it’s 190^th year of trading.

For house sellers July was a positive month too.  Across all seven offices Nock Deighton brought over £37,000,000 of property to the market and were able to agree sales on 95 homes and this is set to be repeated in August. 

Sales Director Ross D’Aniello says; “Of the buyer enquiries we have seen in the last month 54% have been buyers who are looking to move to the area, it would seem that people from the more built up areas are aspiring to the rural or country lifestyle away from the larger metropolitan areas.  According to Rightmove, city residents who contacted estate agents to buy a home in a village rose by 126% in June & July compared to the same period last year.”

Prices have every reason to hold firm. According to Rightmove stock levels nationally are still down 13% and 44% of properties launched in England since the market resumed on the 13^th May have secured a buyer. 

“We are progressing sales on just under £72m of property which is a huge task but our highly experienced & dedicated sales progression team are well position to safely guide these to completion.  Traditionally the national average of sales that might fall through could be as high as 50%, yet over the past few months we have seen an all-time low of 4% which is excellent news for both buyers and sellers alike.”

But Ross thinks that we are not out of the woods yet; “the pent up demand from the last few years has given us a significant kick-start, yet the next few months may well be challenging.  It is essential that when sales are agreed they are done so diligently, there can be no room for error, only then can the sale be secure.  Every market makes a market and investing in an effective agent who has the appropriate resources, loyalty to their clients and team ethic is essential in making sure that you can achieve the prices you aspire to for your property.

“Despite the fact that this relief comes to an end in March 2021 it is probably prudent to ensure that deals are agreed prior to Christmas as it can take several months for a sale to exchange and complete.  Solicitors will be under significant pressure to get maters completed ahead of the deadline so buyers and sellers alike should be wary of this as deals that do not complete in time may be subject to review to allow for a reduction in available funds.”

Regardless of the wider economic picture it would seem that the property sector, on first appearances at least, seems to have resumed as it finished prior to the lockdown and home owners will see prices holding firm.