Promoting a sustainable future

The comforts of home

As the nights draw in and we seek the warmth and comfort of home, it’s a good time to pause and reflect on what proved to be an exciting year for Guernsey property, and to look forward to the challenges and opportunities of the coming year.

Rather like the change in the weather, some of the heat has come out of the markets, but that did not stop Cooper Brouard from having a very busy end to 2022 helping a whole range of clients fulfil their property requirements. The world has settled down after the disruption of COVID19, but we can forecast some head winds will be affecting the Open and Local Housing markets in the coming year. The Open Market saw a dip in the volume of transactions in 2022; this was expected after a bumper year in 2021, but transaction values remained strong and we were successful in completing the highest value residential sale of 2022. (Details on page 13). The supply of homes remains limited particularly at the “entry level” to the market, however, a little more stability in the building industry is encouraging for applicants who want to put their own stamp on a development project. The days of 1-2% interest rates seem to be well and truly behind us, but that has not stopped Local Market buyers from continuing to view properties and put in offers. A significant factor in both Guernsey markets has always been supply and we are still seeing limited stock for waiting buyers. However, applicants who did not enjoy the very heated market of recent years are now actively house hunting and looking to market their properties, so we expect the choice of Local Market properties to gradually improve. The rental market remains very active, with the lack of supply ensuring strong rents. Our Lettings and management team are always looking for properties to offer; if you require any lettings advice, or in fact with any aspect of Guernsey property our friendly team will be delighted to help.