Our agent, Aaron Kernan, also acts for buyers. He buys properties for owner occupiers, investors and developers alike. Some of his clients just want help looking for a new home, some want help to evaluate a property and to negotiate the best deal. Aaron understands that for many, their home is likely to be their most valuable asset both financially and emotionally. His objective is to make every aspect of the move as straight forward and enjoyable as possible. From the first contact to the day you move home he strives to ensure our customers experience a professional, confident service provided by a motivated and enthusiastic agent.
During his 19 years in the business, Aaron has bought and sold hundreds of properties and development sites.
Northern Ireland's latest house price data published by PropertyPal in January 2024 outlines the current average selling price in Northern Ireland to be £203,100. Our own district Newry, Mourne and Down continues to perform extremely well with an average selling price for the district of £208,400, an increase of 4.2% on the 12 months previous.
Market activity continued to soften over the last three months as economic pressures and events of the last year became more apparent. Prices in the existing home segment of the market grew at a modest 0.6% over the past quarter, whilst new homes increased by 0.3%.
Last year ended more robustly than expected given the challenging economic conditions in the opening half of the year. For most of 2023, inflation was close to double digit territory, economic growth was muted and successive base rate hikes pushed mortgage rates over 5-6%. Despite this, newly agreed sales increased by 16% vs Q4 2022 levels, highlighting the underlying positive sentiment still prevailing in the market. Furthermore, demand (as measured by enquiries sent to estate agents for their listed properties), is 30% higher than last year and the average time to find a buyer is about 10 days faster than the longer term average. To add to the positive news, gradually improving inflation levels has created competitiveness in the lending markets with many mortgage rates sitting in the 4% range. These conditions give some more optimism for a more active market in 2024.
Swift Survey
If you’ve found a suitable property but would like someone to run a professional eye over it before you commit further then send me an email with a link to the property advert on the agent’s website or the property portal on which it appears.
£100.00 plus VAT
Agent Advisor
Buying & Selling Advice
Up to 3,000 people buy a home every month. 90% of those who are selling get advice from an estate agent but most buyers think they can do it all themselves. Of course not everyone thinks they can afford or justify a bespoke buying service but now you can get help from my new Agent Advisor service. Help for anyone looking to transfer their pension pot or to buy or sell, to rent or let all for £500 plus VAT.
Customised Buying Service
We look for homes and development sites and seek to acquire them on behalf of our clients. As far as the law is concerned, I am an estate agent – In this instance, we act for buyers, not sellers. Some clients just want help looking for a new home, some want help to evaluate a property and to negotiate the best deal. Buying a home or development plot is one of the biggest decisions you have to make in life, and it really is worth putting in the effort to make sure you get it right. Too many people make mistakes in buying homes and land, which can affect your well-being, be a major hassle - and be very expensive.
Of course many people start off asking too much for their home or land and a third of sellers currently on the market have reduced their guide price at least once according to the website Zoopla.co.uk. One of my most recent purchase was a substantial detached house in Newry, marketed at £295,000 (bought for a client in September 2023 for £220,000 - a 25% saving).
£1,500 plus VAT