As most of you dedicated readers will know, there is nothing I love more than talking about property and property issues. I am sure that I must need to find a hobby or something else to help occupy my time, which is a good link to the subject for this article.
Usually most people think that a new year must mean a new fitness regime or gym membership and most of us start with really good intentions but then find it difficult to keep it up, so here is a thought for you, what about using your home and the things in or around it to help you maintain your levels of fitness, for instance, if you have a first, second or even a third floor apartment, try using the stairs instead of the lift. If you have a garden, gardening is a really good and gentle way to keep fit and surprisingly therapeutic as well.
If like me, many of you use a local car wash, have you thought about changing it up and occasionally doing it yourself. I have seen some people using bags of sugar or filling jam jars up with water to be as weights, in general, there are a lot of things that you can be doing to try to have a less sedentary lifestyle.
I am one of those highly annoying people who gets up at 5.30 most morning and go to a spin class at my gym, thankfully it is only five minutes away but this year I intend on cycling to and from instead of using the car. I will also be trying to eat less pizza, but that might be pushing it a bit far.
So, what will the new year hold install for you, will a move be on the table? Now that we have had the general election, and it seems that the United Kingdom will be leaving the European Union on January 31st, will we see the general condition of the housing market improve? Normally, in September of each year, the housing market, sees an uplift as buyers want to be in their new homes ready for Christmas, however in September 2019, due to the fact that there was so much uncertainty surrounding Brexit and weather or not it would even happen, we did not see this uplift, indeed across the board on most of the retail markets, the uncertainty made most people hit the pause button on their plans to spend any money. Investment buyers, especially, have decided to wait as not only Brexit but also the 3% stamp duty imposed on all second home up to £125,000 or even the 5% on any second properties between £125,001 and £250,000 have certainly been one of the nails in the coffin for the (usually) flat or apartment type property market.
The term Green Shoots suggest that there are slight signs that an improvement is on its way. Here at Cross Keys Estates, we are already seeing some of those Green Shoots of recovery that now fills me with some hope that 2020 will be a more prosperous year than 2019. We left last year with a splurge of sales that lead be to believe that the general public had either had enough of the hesitancy in the market or that they think this year will be a better time for them to buy their dream property.
I, myself, am currently in the midst of looking for my forever home and I am certain that this will be the year for me find it.