Lifestyle relocation and the desire for more space has led to a surge in activity in Dorset’s housing market, with more than twice as many sales over £1m in 2020 compared to the previous year.
According to Savills research using data from TwentyCI, Dorset saw a 49% increase in sales agreed across the whole market since 1st June 2020 compared to 2019. Above £1m, the figure increases to 136%.
The residential sales team at Savills Wimborne saw buyer registrations increase by 84% last year compared to 2019, with viewing numbers up 108% and 62% more sales agreed, with 53% of properties attracting multiple offers.
Almost a third (28%) of buyers were upsizing from within the area, while half (49%) were relocating to the county, with 19% of buyers coming from London and a further 16% from Hampshire and Surrey.
Ashley Rawlings, head of residential sales at Savills Wimborne, said: “Against all expectations, 2020 was an exceptionally busy year. The pandemic encouraged people to think more about where they live and the attributes they most value in a home and there has been clear demand from buyers, particularly in the family market.
“Lifestyle relocation remains a big theme as people continue to reassess their work-life balance. Those with future plans to move to the county, or to move back to where they themselves grew up, have made the decision to do so earlier, making the most of being able to work from home and commute less frequently.
“Now more than ever, buyers want somewhere with greater space, a large garden, easy access to the countryside and excellent schools. The Dorset area of course has this in abundance, with property representing good value for money when compared to London. As a result, we have seen strong activity across the board.
“This strong demand from buyers is still very much in evidence this year, though there is a clear shortage of stock following the large volume of sales agreed in 2020.”
The surge in market activity has supported prices and delivered some unexpected gains but it hasn’t resulted in runaway price growth. The wider south of England region, which includes Dorset, saw an increase of 4.6% last year, with the coastal market and country houses over £2m seeing increases of 5.6% and 5.5% respectively.
Lucian Cook, Savills head of residential research, says: “Our expectation is that this further lockdown will make people more aware of the limitations of their existing home and increase their commitment to moving, likely leading to pent up demand as seen after the first national lockdown early in 2020. At the same time, however, the pool of those able to act on their desire to move will shrink so buyers and sellers will need to continue to remain pragmatic around pricing. We’d expect sustained activity from those with secure household finances, which will help sustain activity levels in the prime market, but lenders are likely to become more risk averse which will make it harder for those requiring high levels of borrowing.
“The desire to beat the stamp duty deadline will help sustain activity in the first quarter of 2021, but it’s probably going to be harder to meet the 31 March deadline. The end of the stamp duty holiday will coincide with rising unemployment as the furlough scheme comes to an end, and this further lockdown may mean a deeper lull in activity mid-year but a stronger bounceback as the vaccine rollout progresses.
“Covid-19 will have a longer tail in the form of higher taxation. This will likely act as a medium term drag on the market, though low interest rates will help counter this.”