The changes, approved last month, are expected to lead to an average of three new properties a year being inscribed on the open market register.
Savills’ head of residential sales, Stuart Leslie, said that the move would also ensure the island’s housing stock meets modern buyers’ demands.
Mr Leslie was talking at an event hosted by the firm, which included a question-and-answer session with Environment & Infrastructure president Deputy Lindsay de Sausmarez, who was on a panel which included DLM Architects’ David De La Mare.
‘People continue to move to Guernsey for lifestyle reasons as much as financial, and we need to ensure the island’s housing offer is competitive with other jurisdictions, balancing that with the requirements of those looking to move on the local market,’ said Mr Leslie.
Another element of the changes approved by the States will allow people to transfer inscriptions of properties already on part A of the register to a new build, or between properties on the open or local markets.
Open market residents who want to downsize should in future find it easier to swap their part A inscription with a smaller local market home.
Mr Leslie said the open market was developed decades ago and, although it played an important part in the island’s economy, the rules which governed it had not previously kept pace with the demands of buyers.
‘The changes should encourage a greater variety and quality of housing stock onto both the open and local markets, meeting the needs of modern offshore re-locators as well as long-term residents of the island,’ he said.
Uncertainty about the future of the market had previously had a negative impact on confidence, added Savills’ residential sales team director, Nick Paluch.
‘We feel this clear and well-developed policy will now give owners and buyers faith and stability,’ he said.
‘Crucially, the changes could help unlock some local market developments that stalled because they were seen as no longer financially viable.’
He believed that releasing one or two of these homes to the open market could give builders the confidence needed to get these projects going again.
He added that the agents had been aware of the difficulties some open market residents had faced when looking to downsize due to the lack of supply.
‘By making it easier for long-standing open market residents to transfer an inscription to a smaller home, it should allow for greater flexibility,’ he said.
‘And with the policy being based on a “one for one” switch, we’re confident it shouldn’t have any negative effects.’
The changes to the open market were developed and co-designed with industry stakeholders, including estate agents and property professionals, property developers, Locate Guernsey and the Open Market Forum, as well as being informed by feedback from the Policy & Resources, Economic Development and Home Affairs Committees.
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