Coronavirus and the Harehills property market
What a strange year 2020 has been with few signs that the global pandemic will shift anytime soon.
At Hogan’s, we’ve switched back and forth between remote working and being in the office. We’re still carrying out many valuations based on market data and our vast knowledge of the local property scene and our virtual video tours created by the team have proved incredibly popular in terms of giving people a taste of what a property is like, without just photos and a description.
What has been evident too is that property is selling faster to both investors and buyers. Property in the areas we serve – Harehills, Beeston, Gipton, Burmantofts, Seacroft, Leeds city centre – is generally very affordable.
You can buy a sturdy terraced home for under £100,000 – indeed sometimes much less – and live in it or rent it out as an investment.
We still see huge tenant demand for renting but now that is coupled with greater demand to buy?
We asked Stephen Thorpe, the company director, for his views:
Property has always sold quite quickly locally, but, contrary to expectations, lockdown has accelerated that. Whether it’s because people have more disposable income due to not holidaying, or Rishi Sunak’s stamp duty holiday, or people spending more time at home, is not clear. It’s probably a combination of all these factors.
What we do know is that stock in Harehills alone is at a record low – Rightmove has just 49 properties available to buy from 167 listed at the time of writing (20 September 2020). That’s two thirds of property stock sold. We’re finding homeowners are increasingly drawn to our service – we are a family firm, based in the centre of Harehills and we always strive to support sellers and buyers in what can be stressful times.
Indeed, we had a tremendous response to a post on Facebook reminding tenants that we can help in many ways :
A reminder, if any of our tenants require any help or support during this difficult time, pick up the phone and speak to us, we will try and help where we can or find the support you need. This could be help with food shopping, picking up prescriptions etc or just a friendly voice at the end of the phone.
We would also like to thank our fantastic staff, customers and contractors for their continued support.
If you’re thinking of moving in 2020 or beyond, or are curious about the value of your home, property portfolio or its letting yields, contact our friendly team on: enquiries@hogans.co
You can phone us, but, if busy, drop us an email or Facebook message and we will respond promptly.
