There was an upbeat feel to the latest Property Chat on Radio Guernsey’s John Randall Show.

 

Matt from Cooper Brouard said they had taken on around 30 houses and that there was a ‘bit of everything’ from Flats to move in to or as investments, up to properties at just under a million. Whatever the price, he still felt that “buyers were very much in the driving seat.” 

 

Steve from GHA had positive news on progress of their developments and focussed on a flat at Coeur de Parc that was up for sale under their partial ownership scheme. It’s not often that properties are readily available as most are snapped up by those on waiting lists but this isn’t one for families with children or pets so there were fewer prospective applicants and an ideal opportunity for those looking to buy but lacking a deposit.

 

Our MD Pierre added to the good news saying that it had been a great year for lending so far. In the period Jan – April Barclays had lent £13.3 million for house purchases in the island. That’s more than the TOTAL amount lent in the Jan – April periods of 2013 – 2017 put together.

 

This was a clear indication that the groundwork done by Barclays and SPF in getting the products right before launch, was all worth it. Indeed Barclays are currently ‘top of the pops’ for mortgages in Guernsey, lending 13.3 million in the first four months, Lloyds are second with 12.6m, followed by Skipton at 11.7m, RBS / Nat West at 9.3m and HSBC at 6.8m.

 

In response to John’s questions as to whether or not there was a new lender on the horizon. Pierre did assert that there were 2 potential new lenders that could come to the island in the short and longer term, but that, in essence, the Barclays product offering has opened up the market in the same way that a new lender would and was a positive step for the market as a whole.

 

The panel concluded their discussion mulling over the upsides and downsides of doing away with Document Duty, at least for a brief period, potentially to kick start the market further. This was in reference to the KPMG Report debate up coming in June /July. No-one could predict the outcome but they were unanimous in the hope that it resulted in decisions being made rather than another round of consultations as a result