All right now, baby it’s all right now…..! (Free, 1975)

The last few months have felt akin to being in the car approaching a tunnel, and shouting ‘hold your ‘breath’!  The further on you go, the clearer the circle of light becomes – but is it red? Or blue?

Today’s election result has defied all the pundits, who persuaded themselves that it was bound to be a hung parliament with resultant chaos (the stuff on which all journalists seem to feed). Within hours of the result, we heard Cameron declaiming a ‘one country government’, whilst his opponents were busy falling on their swords (will Farage and Balls go into the decorating business, one wonders….?).

Let’s celebrate while we can – equally, let’s not hasten to forget the certainty that austerity will remain. After all, despite healthy signs for the economy, this has yet to translate into higher disposable incomes.

Whilst activity in the market below the £1.5m level will remain buoyant, this will only last as long as mortgage rates remain low (it is already evident that banks are not only making applicants jump through ever diminishing hoops, but slowing the whole pace of the offer process).

Above £2m, we anticipate an early realisation that it was not so much the fear of Labour’s Mansion Tax that was holding the market back, but the lack of buyers willing to pay the ever increasing prices being asked. With school fees rising exponentially, even top salaries remaining static, running costs rising, we feel that the market will require revaluing before the Autumn if sale levels are likely to revert to former levels.

That is not to say that demand is dropping – indeed, we are preparing for an increase in enquiries from prospective clients who not only need help in finding a home, but in acquiring it on the right terms.