The London property market
“As London’s leading independent Estate Agents, at any one time Dexters teams of local experts are in contact with over 160,000 people across the capital,” says Andy Shepherd, Dexters Chief Executive. “We are continually speaking to those looking to move and we assist in turning their plans into reality, whether they be selling or letting a property or are prospective buyers, tenants or investors.”
Sales market update
“Last year was a record year for Dexters, which included further expansion and strengthening of the business, rounded off by scooping three top industry awards.
We opened new offices in Hampstead, Highgate, Dartmouth Park, West Hampstead, Kensal Rise, Westbourne Grove and Wapping and extended our New Homes offering with a new office in Shoreditch,” comments Andy. “All our hard work and effort on behalf of our clients was recognised at the leading industry awards where we were voted London’s Best Estate Agent as well as Lettings Agent and Property Manager of the Year."
“High levels of activity from buyers continued right to the end of the year, in fact during Christmas week our website received 40% more visits than the same time a year ago. The first quarter is always our busiest period and these figures show an earlier start this year for many planning a move and turning to us for advice,” explains Andy. “With over 70 offices across the capital, including 35 in central London, our experts are highly experienced in their local marketplaces and have a deep understanding of the qualities and virtues that make each part of London so unique and desirable. This knowledge allows us to provide people with the best advice on all aspects of buying and selling.”
“With increased activity already apparent, we expect this to be another sensational year for us and our clients. We have already opened a new sales and lettings office in Northfields; are expanding our office in Pimlico and plan further openings during the year.”
“Our Prime Central London team have been notching up some impressive sales, selling a wide selection of central London houses, from Notting Hill and Hyde Park to Kensington, Chelsea, Knightsbridge, Mayfair and Marylebone.” says Andy. “Our flat specialists have also been busy, handling hundreds of sales, from pieds-à-terre to sumptuous family apartments and penthouses.”
“You may have been following the progress of the online-only agents, who seem to receive a disproportionate amount of press coverage and who some speculate will take over from Estate Agents. We know that Dexters is the ultimate online Estate Agent in London,” says Andy. “Our website receives over 200,000 visits every month and we regularly have more London property on Rightmove than any other agent. We work hard for our clients, combining a network of offices with intimate local knowledge and unmatched marketing strength. Having an entire team dedicated to selling your property from a local office is invaluable to our clients. We calculate that between 150 and 200 hours of work go into each successful transaction and we are 100% focused on finding the very best buyer or tenant - something we never compromise on. We also know that just three out of every 20 viewings we arrange come from advertisements in print or via online portals – we generate the remainder from our own database and by picking up the telephone and talking to people. It is very rare for a buyer to purchase what they first enquire about. The internet and the introduction of Artificial Intelligence has not replaced salesmanship or reduced the importance of human contact in property transactions.”
“Across London, our teams are very busy with high volumes of activity working closely with over 70,000 buyers and tenants keen to secure their new London home,” says Andy. “It’s not just private buyers - investors from across the globe are looking to increase their portfolios, whether through acquiring individual properties, entire blocks or build-to-rent schemes.”
If you are considering selling your property or would like an update on your local market, we would be delighted to assist. Please click the link to make contact with your local Dexters office.
Lettings market update
“Our lettings business enjoyed its best year ever in 2018, averaging over 1,000 new rentals a month,” says Alex Harrington, Dexters Group Lettings Managing Director. “Our award-winning Lettings and Property Management teams are specialists in long-term rentals and professionally managing property for Landlords.”
“A significant increase in our lettings transaction numbers year-on-year is attributable to our hard work on behalf of over 25,000 Landlords who regularly recommend our services to others. It was therefore fitting to have been voted both Lettings Agent of the Year and Property Manager of the Year at recent industry awards. Our local lettings experts are highly experienced in their markets and are able to provide both Landlords and prospective tenants with the best advice on all aspects of renting and letting property.” says Alex. “We work tirelessly to find the very best tenants for our Landlords, keeping void periods and arrears to an absolute minimum – only 1% of Dexters Landlords experience rent arrears against a national average of 36% (National Landlords Association). We also encourage longer tenancies and are seeing an increasing number of three-year rental agreements. Our average initial rental period is now just under two years,” comments Alex.
"We handle enquiries from all over the world, with our dedicated Corporate Lettings and International Relocation team dealing with 200 enquiries a week. Any uncertainty regarding the eventual terms of Brexit is not affecting demand,” says Alex. “The team, based in Mayfair, has attracted major companies and corporations who now deal with Dexters exclusively when relocating employees to London, making us a market leader in high quality corporate lettings. Our Short Lets team have also been working with an increasing amount of tenants from around the world. Shorter term lets are an attractive alternative to a hotel for corporate tenants in particular, as they provide the comfort of a home away from home. We manage property for Landlords whether they are providing one-off short lets or fully serviced apartments.”
“It has been announced recently that the Government is bringing forward legislation requiring all private Landlords to belong to a redress scheme, to ensure that all tenants have access to redress services in any given situation. Dexters Landlords need take no action as we are members of the Property Ombudsman Scheme which already covers this,” explains Alex. “Additionally, Dexters is one of the few major estate agencies to be regulated by The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)."
If you are considering letting your property or would like an update on your local market, we would be delighted to assist. Please click the link to make contact with your local Dexters office.
For further details of our recent award wins please click here.