It’s that time of year, when Business Link Magazine invites the region’s business leaders to offer up their predictions for the year ahead.
It has become something of a tradition, given that we’ve been doing this now for over 30 years.
Here we speak to Julia Day, sales and development progression manager at KMRE Group Ltd.
Last year was unquestionably a challenging one for all industries – each come with their unpredictability but for the property market in particular, 2021 certainly kept us on our toes.
People have been on the hunt for larger homes, house prices have increased – and the stamp duty holiday meant that transaction levels were fluctuating constantly, with interest rates too at an all-time low. The number of buy-to-let mortgages are on the rise, as are – naturally – the number of people renting, and “staycations” are becoming ever more popular.
It was a reflective year for many and we’ve certainly seen a lot of people questioning and rethinking their living situations, not only from a financial and practical perspective, but from a lifestyle point of view too. Homeowners want more space, we are travelling abroad far less and we want security and stability.
Looking ahead to what 2022 will bring, we expect to see more and more people on the move as the demand in the property market remains high and relatively steady. Rental properties also stay in high demand, particularly apartments in central and accessible locations, so we expect to see these become more popular too.
The rise of living costs and the demand pressures may mean the tightening of belts for some and make it harder for first time buyers to get on the property ladder, but given the fluctuation that we saw through 2021, we don’t think this will be as dramatic in the new year, and a crash in the market following the housing boom which some have questioned we actually don’t expect to see any time soon.
We’re looking forward to progressing with and completing our latest residential developments in Nottingham and Leeds in 2022, as we remain committed to investing in cities that offer residents excellent locations and investment opportunities.
