The effect of any financial crisis is first reflected in the property market. A Hull property agent has been monitoring the situation, whilst sharing knowledge between experts up and down the country and believes from experience of previous recessions, Hull’s market could make a quicker recovery than the rest of the UK.
Danny Gough is the Managing Director of MyPad lettings agency as well as being a director of its sister company, My Agent estate agency. He works with landlords, private sellers and one of the City’s major residential property developers, Iguana Developments.
Danny said: “We all are hoping that in the coming weeks the lockdown restrictions will start to be lifted and for life to settle into a new normal. I work with a variety of property investors, who, as well as private property owners, are concerned about the value of their properties.”
“The next 12 months will be interesting for the UK market but I am very confident Hull will pull through, we always have and we always will.”
“Although this is much greater in magnitude, the nearest thing I can compare this crisis to in my lifetime is the 2008 crash. It happened at the same time that I became involved in property management. I was always confident Hull would be one of the least-affected cities, bouncing back quicker than similar cities, and I was correct.”
“In my view, there will be a small downturn on property sales, affecting traditional properties the most, as regular buyers lose confidence in the housing market. Mortgage lenders have already started to reduce the number of products being offered and have changed some of the lending criteria for new mortgages, this affects the property market on the higher risk properties.”
"The high-end properties should not be affected so much and the high-yielding investment properties should also remain fairly stable. The reason being, the sellers of these types of property are not usually in a hurry to sell and will hold out for the right price.”
“In the event of a big drop throughout the UK, Hull can make a quick recovery as property values have already been relatively low, compared to other cities such as Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool and London.”
“Personally, I anticipate a mini-boom in renting, similar to the busy period just after Christmas each year. Many renters will be desperate to move, waiting for the restrictions to lift so they can find their new home. This keeps the investment sales market strong as most savvy property investors look at yield. If the rental market is strong, the investors will be confident in buying more buy-to-let properties.”
“Unfortunately, for some investors who made poor investment choices and had not done enough research before investing, these may see their portfolio sink below market value and want to sell. I am sure savvy investors will be keen to grab a bargain.”
Jason Coleman is the Managing Director of Iguana Developments. His firm is responsible for a number of significant developments which regenerate Hull City Centre and The Old Town.
He said: “The Glass House in Queen’s Gardens is now a few months away from completion, following the lockdown delay. We took our teams off-site to prevent the spread of coronavirus.”
“However, we are still receiving enquiries from local people wanting to move this year. Some people who were in a position to move before everything came to a standstill are still keen, which is very promising.”
“Some businesses are starting to return to work in France and Spain and although things will take a long time to return to ‘normal’, people still want to move. Perhaps we should all take some comfort from this.”
