Nick Churton of Mayfair International Realty recently asked his good friend, renowned property guru Peter Wetherell, what he envisaged for the coming year. Peter's thoughts are as follows .............

Statistics and Predictions for 2011

Reading the market predictions for 2011 makes me realise that the real worth of these reports is not whether they are correct but whether they are interesting!

The conclusions of the report must, at the least, seem plausible to the reader and this feeling will be greatly enhanced if they are written for the cognoscenti.

The great benefit of looking back is that it can give you expertise and experience in looking forward but the further back you look makes you realise that no two cycles are ever the same.

Wetherell’s experience in Mayfair, both past and present, gives us the scent and instinct as to what lies ahead.  I have to say that it is all very encouraging for Mayfair as the reversion of the area back to residential continues with more offices being converted back into residential use.

With a weak pound and a strong overseas demand; the Mayfair property market in 2011 will see buyers competing for the continued shortage of properties available.  I believe that further price rises are inevitable as Mayfair catches up with Belgravia, Knightsbridge, Kensington and Chelsea values.

With the abolition of the western zone of the Congestion Charging area, the West End will once again have less traffic as incoming drivers baulk at the daily £10 to enter Mayfair, further enhancing the ambience of the area.

For those businesses that had only just survived in 2010; the coming year will be much the same as last but for those who had a bad year then they will not be at all optimistic for the coming year ahead.  

However, estate agencies in prime central London who had a surprisingly good 2010 will be very positive in maintaining their market share if not increasing it and will also be relatively confident that their prime instructions will sell for prices comparable, if not more, than 2010 prices.

The view on the residential market just depends on who you talk to.  Wetherell were involved in over 50% of the houses sold in the Mayfair area for 2010 and we were also involved in about a third of the total value of property sold.  Wetherell enter 2011 with the highest market share of instructions at over 20% with the top 5 estate agents commanding about 75% market share.

The current stock of instructions is low at just over 100 properties and it is interesting to note that 20% have had price reductions.  Some commentators will preach a troubled market with this statistic however 10% of the market is also currently under offer AND none of those suffered any price reductions at all - highlighting the value of correct pricing at the outset.

2011 will be the year of the professionals in all industries, best practice, hard work and keeping one step ahead of the competitors!

STOP PRESS
A couple of new instructions to whet your appetite for 2011.

The “Oval Office” in Mount Street – A 1st floor 2 bedroom apartment of 1,224 sq.ft. with amazing oval reception room with painted ceiling. Sole Agent @ £1,300 p.w. For further details click here

View of Marble Arch and Hyde Park – a 7th floor 2 bedroom contemporary apartment of 1,450 sq.ft. with great views, secure underground car parking space and use of spa. Sole Agent @ £3,400,000. For further details click here 

Kind Regards

Peter Wetherell
Wetherell
020 7529 5560