Welcome to our July Company Update

This month felt like a quintessentially British summer for our team, filled with Wimbledon, rounders, summer festivals and to top it off, Worthing Pride. The property market saw new records broken and we look ahead to the rest of August.

Community

As always we have been busy here and summer means more time spent outside and more sporting activities taking place. To celebrate Wimbledon we had a great giveaway, with the lucky winner receiving 4 hours of private tennis lessons. To follow the sporting theme our team took part in the ever-popular Charity Rounders Tournament, dusting off their skills after two years away. It was a fantastic day and a total of £1,600 was raised for St Barnabas House – massive well-done everyone.

There’s always time to donate, and you can do so by following the link here. Donate Here

We can’t forget other big events that have taken place in Worthing. In particular, we saw Worthing Pride which was a great spectacle including a parade, and concert, which sparked an overall buzz around the town. Here at Michael Jones, we celebrated pride with our limited edition boards, designed by local interior stylist Gemma Gear. Did you spot our colourful pride boards around the town and villages?

We also had the popular Worthing Lions festival – a popular and permanent fixture of the social calendar with the funfair, markets, fireworks, classic cars show, and the Salvation Army Service.

Market update

Sales update

According to the latest data from Rightmove’s House Price Index, the average price of property coming to market has seen a sixth consecutive record this month, rising by 0.4% (£1,354) to £369,968.

The South East specifically, however, has bucked the trend seen across most of the UK (bar Wales, the South West & East Midlands) with house prices month-on-month remaining the same as June, but an annual increase of 9.3% highlights the strength of the market, with data also showing the average time taken to sell is 33 days.

There are, however, signs that stock levels will continue to rise, with the current number of sellers up by 13% compared with July last year. This number, though, is still 40% down on 2019’s recordings. This shortfall should serve to maintain the higher prices seen across the UK for the coming months and into 2023. The gap is so wide that Rightmove has revised its 2022 yearly forecast, with 7% annual growth now predicted by the end of 2022 – up from the original 5% predicted.

As a vendor of Michael Jones not only will we find the right buyer for you, but we will also ensure that when the roles reverse and you become the buyer we do everything we can to find the right property for you too.

Energy Efficiency

In other sales news, there are growing concerns around energy efficiency. With the ongoing crisis surrounding rising energy prices and an enhanced focus on environmental issues, it’s no wonder that energy-efficient properties are within buyers’ top three requirements when looking to buy a new home. This is certainly something for vendors to consider before selling, as new research from Rightmove has found that those who upgraded their EPC rating from an F to a C added an average of 16% to the price achieved for their home.

Rental update

The rental market is continuing to break records with new data from Rightmove reporting that the average rental property outside of London is now listed for £1,126 per month. Specifically in the South East, the average rental price is now £1,611pcm. This is a 5.0% quarter-on-quarter rise and a 12.1% year-on-year price increase, with the average yield calculated to be 5.3%. Now is as good a time as any to let your property and Michael Jones can help you every step of the way.

Tenants also should feel safe in the knowledge that by renting through Michael Jones they gain access to high-quality rentals and management teams to assist them with life in their home.

Looking Forward

August is a big month for our sister Company Brand Vaughan, with Brighton Pride happening on the first weekend. Worthing will also see the Rotary Carnival event which will take place at the end of August over the bank holiday.

Have a great August,

Best wishes

Joe

Content accurate at time of publishing.