Market update - January 2023

We made it, it’s finally February! But before we all look ahead to lighter nights and gardens blooming, our Director Gary reflects on what’s been in happening in the property market in January.

Gary: In what is my first monthly market update of 2023, I’d firstly like to wish everyone a happy new year and all the best for 2023. It seems like a long time ago since the festive break and the property market certainly hasn’t taken long to get going again.

Looking specifically at things here at Possible, In January we agreed 12 sales in total in locations including Alyth, Perth city centre, North Muirton, Craigie, Oakbank, Tulloch, and Pitlochry. It was also a real mix of different property styles in terms of flats, villas, maisonettes, modern homes and traditional styles too. The property values ranged from £120,000 to just under £400,000 so it was a real mixed bag which is always a good sign for the market. January can often be a fairly unpredictable month in the property market with some people picking things up again after the festive period and also some people taking their first steps into buying and selling with a new year and new plans commencing.

There’s no doubt that the market has changed since the frenzy and peak of last year and the year previous which was inevitable. Things were always going to revert back towards some form of normality so I don’t think people will be too surprised to hear that. Keeping in touch with other local estate agents and indeed others in other parts of Scotland, we are all seeing a similar trend emerging.

Towards the end of the year we saw interest rates and mortgage rates rise quite sharply and the much talked about higher cost of utilities became a reality for us all. Those factors perhaps caused some uncertainty and contributed to the market slowing down quicker than was probably expected. However, things have very much settled down and some mortgage rates have even started to come down again already.

There has been a healthy number of properties sold across Perthshire so far this year already, it just might be taking some properties a bit longer to sell and the level of viewers or offers might not be quite as high as last year on average, but that doesn’t mean some really good results can’t be achieved. As mentioned above, it very much feels like a normal, healthy market to buy and sell in.

Valuation requests have been very high so far this year with some people waiting for the better weather or early spring market before launching their property so there’s no doubt that more properties will be hitting the market as we come into February and March.

Being realistic on value/asking price is going to be absolutely key this year. Any property has to be priced correctly for the prevailing market conditions, not just what has happened previously and that's particularly important when it's on the back of a little "bubble" in the market. That has to be combined with a very comprehensive and pro-active marketing strategy to capture a wide audience and get people through the door. It’s then down to the estate agents to work hard, efficiently and negotiate effectively for their clients to achieve the best possible outcome. For myself and the team here at Possible, as the area's only fully dedicated estate agency, that's precisely what we try to do. 

To arrange a completely free valuation for your property and hear more about how we can help achieve the best possible result for your home, contact us now on 01738 260035 or hello@wearepossible.co.uk

Bringing over 20 years local estate agency experience, Possible are Perthshire's only company who are solely dedicated to selling properties. We cover the entire Perthshire area and over the years have helped hundreds of clients in locations such as Perth, Scone, Bridge of Earn, Auchterarder, Crieff, Blairgowrie, Luncarty, Bankfoot, Pitlochry and everywhere else in between.