We ran a story on our Instagram feed yesterday & it clearly resonated with our audience – Norfolk dwellers & wannabe dwellers, property hunters, estate agents, developers, lovers of Norfolk property, fellow buying agents & all our other lovelies following us (thank you).

The story was simple enough – a share of a The Guardian newspaper headline (going against the grain for me, as it’s not a paper I respect one bit, as an ex-hack, but I digress): ‘Housing market slows amid fears Reeves will increase property taxes.’

The typically over verbose piece went on to reference ‘post-Summer bounce in activity fails to materialises as buyers and sellers, in the South especially, opt to ‘wait and see.’

True. And I simply stated my personal opinion that it was ‘excellent governance to freeze an entire industry for months whilst people ‘wait & see.’ Meanwhile, there’s outstanding deals to be done for those in the market with us.’

I was of course being sarcastic. It’s insane to do this. But it has created opportunity. Real, genuine opportunity…

Did you sit around the dinner table last night & decide not to book next year’s skiing holiday – in case the government introduces a skiing tax (don’t joke!)?

Did you wait to buy that car you always wanted in case they putatively come down hard on EV’s (more likely!)?

Did you not open that business in the premises you have been waiting to come up on the high street in case they double business rate tax (also plausible)?

No… of course not.

Life is short.

Life is now.

You get on with it.

But sellers are stopping putting their house on the market.

Buyers are waiting to see what is going on before they put an offer in.

Rabbits in the political headlights.

And this is having seriously negative effects on the property market – stalling the industry for months now, forcing many sellers to squeeze the market value of their homes lower & lower & effectively strangling the sector, painfully slowly…

But let’s open a window here. This is all way too political. Let’s be Flint Homes practical here.

The simple fact is the Autumn budget is not for another month – Wednesday November 26 – slightly later than most years, (whilst they monitor the reaction of various leaked stories like the one in The Guardian & analyse echo-chamber opinions on social media etc before committing to whatever policy changes they have in mind).

And yes, there’s wide speculation that property is one sector where change is highly likely, with current muted suggestions being:

Stamp duty could be scrapped, along with council tax – with a new annual property tax, hitting hardest for higher-rate earners.
Maybe council tax will get over-hauled – again to hit the richest home owners, with new higher rate bands introduced.
Capital Gains Tax (CGT) exemptions on expensive homes might be lifted or even removed – hitting the wealthy.
There could be National Insurance (NI) on rental income – hitting entrepreneurs & those with property portfolios.
There might even be a ‘wealth tax’ introduced – hitting those with perceived wealth.

So it’s fair to say, whatever policies are introduced, some further hits on those with ‘wealth’ are likely. And further squeezes on ‘affordability’ appear to be inevitable.

What has happened up here in Norfolk in recent months is:

Less properties are coming to market.
Those that are coming to market are having to be keenly priced to get a sale, or are rapidly (in some case relentlessly & ruthlessly) reduced.
There are less serious buyers circling about.
Sellers are having their houses valued & sitting, waiting & wishing.
Speculation about new property taxes, changes to stamp duty, or capital gains reforms is making some buyers hesitate to commit.
Mortgage affordability, EPC expectations & this nervous wait for the Autumn Budget are all adding to the mix.

But not everyone is bothered.

Those that have to move for financial, employment or personal reasons are still moving. Successfully.

And fortune favours the brave – & there’s a few of the more canny, smart & savvy buyers on the move to: making the most of what is 100% a buyer’s market (& we have been enjoying helping these lucky, lovely people).

If you are in cash or sold subject to contract on your own house – you are in a VERY strong position right now.

But will that last after the budget is announced?

It’s an uncertain path.

But our bet is yes, it will remain a buyer’s market – as those sellers waiting to list their property decide to get on with it post budget.

This will add more stock to the market, giving buyers more choice – which by the laws of supply & demand opens their buying power up further still. Good times.

But this is conjecture. And nobody really knows….

What we can say with certainty is right now there’s a hell of a lot of outstanding deals to be done… on & off market.

Opportunity knocks…

And we have been helping our clients make the most of this opportunity & current market & secure these properties at incredibly good prices – future-proofing them from the uncertainty of the current political climate & this government’s appetite to tax ‘wealthy people.’

So, for those of you brave enough to get the bally hell on with it – put your property on the market with a quality, realistic estate agent, price it absolutely right (use Zoopla’s free valuation tools), get a solid offer & go for it.

And for those of you in cash… I honestly have no clue what you are waiting for!

Less competition. Highly motivated sellers. The chance to lock into today’s framework rather than take a gamble on unknown – possibly horrific – policy shifts. Making the most of stable mortgage rates that are here today. It’s all here to be taken advantage of…

Sure, there may not be much upward price movement initially following this budget, but at the price we will secure your new home at… you won’t be losing sleep over that, we assure you…

So, if you have ever dreamed of owning a home in one of North Norfolk’s hot spots – Burnham Market, Blakeney, Brancaster, Cley, Wells, Stiffkey & the like, there’s not been as good a time in recent years.

Go & have a look on Rightmove (& that’s not even half of the ones we know about going off market).

Carpe diem.