Property sales in first quarter were 84 lower than last year

March was the first month in which property sales made it above 100 so far this year. But 34 of 108 conveyances processed at the Greffe were for £1 or less, according to figures compiled by Unusualities of Guernsey. Only two of the sales were on the open market, including a house in the Forest for £3.97m., which attracted the highest price of the month.

Lawyers at Carey Olsen have seen sales fall 40% in the local market and 48% in the open market compared with the same period over 2022.

‘It always takes a while for the housing market to warm up at the start of the year, but clearly there is a little more caution than normal,’ said Stuart Leslie, head of residential sales at estate agents Savills in Guernsey.

‘Historically Guernsey has been somewhat insulated from any wider political or financial uncertainty – but it is not wholly immune from outside pressures.’

Cost-of-living pressures and rising mortgage rates have cut buyers’ budgets and vendors who have not needed to sell immediately were sitting tight, he said.

‘It’s important to put the activity of the last few months into context – it’s coming off the back of a very busy two- or three-year period, both in terms of the number of transactions and price rises, which was always going to be impossible to sustain.

‘Activity is currently more needs-based than it was previously – people having to relocate for work or family reasons for example. And while demand is stronger than we anticipated, buyers do not feel the same urgency that they felt last year or the year before, and are happy to bide their time to find the right home at the right price.’

Advocate Jason Morgan, head of Carey Olsen’s property group in Guernsey, said the early-year figures followed a very busy end to 2022.

‘As is often the case in the early part of the year, there has been significantly less market activity for the first quarter of 2023,’ said Advocate Morgan.

‘Although a noticeable increase in properties being advertised for sale on the local market bodes well for an improvement in market activity in that sector in the months ahead.’

Mr Leslie expected the market to pick up in the run up to the summer.

‘Demand remains robust and we’re not forecasting a substantial drop in house prices,’ said Mr Leslie.

‘The lifestyle on offer in Guernsey remains a significant draw for the open market – and there continues to be a core number of committed buyers who are willing to make a move regardless of the market conditions on the local market.

‘Long term we still think Guernsey will outperform the UK prime market over the next five years.’