Tom, Denise and Chris with Jason Fox
No artificially high valuations, no minimum-term contracts and no notice periods… three reasons why Whitman & Co is W4’s No.1 estate agent
It has been an award-winning end of year for Whitman & Co. Having already won the British Property Awards for Sales and Lettings in Chiswick in 2024, at the recent EA Masters, which is the UK’s leading estate agency conference and exhibition event, the team won Gold Awards in both the Sales and Lettings categories.
‘We were delighted to be recognised by our industry peers,’ recalls Chris Chalmers, the company’s Sales Director. ‘The presentation was held at Evolution in Battersea Park and, rather appropriately, one of the main hosts was Alex Jones from The One Show, who is actually a previous client of ours.’
With Christmas coming, the property market traditionally begins to quieten – but not so this year. ‘In fact, it’s been quite the opposite,’ says Chris. ‘Prior to the Autumn Budget here and the US election result there was a cautious wait-and-see feel. We were still consistently busy, but buyers and sellers were clearly waiting to digest the implications of what happened.
‘Since then, however, the market has taken off. The fact that there was at least a sense of certainty about the next four or five years immediately injected a degree of confidence. For example, potential buyers knew more about the trajectory of taxes and the impact on school fees and, armed with that information, they have acted decisively and got on the move.
‘The marked difference is best summed up by one property that we were marketing at £1.15 million. Within a week, there had been 40 viewings and a remarkable 18 offers: the house ended up selling for £100,000-plus over the asking price.’
Over the next year major legislative changes relating to property will come into play, with the first key date for the diary being 31 March. ‘After that, the threshold on first time buyer relief on Stamp Duty will revert from £625,000 back to £500,000,’ explains Chris.
‘As a result, we are anticipating a strong demand for flats up to the value of £625,000 in order to still qualify for the extra relief. If you are thinking of selling a property at that price point, we would strongly recommend launching it onto the market as early as possible in the New Year in anticipation of achieving an excellent result.
‘Similarly, the lettings sector will be affected by new, often complex, contractual laws and regulations. With the Renters’ Rights Bill set to bring about the most significant changes to renting in a generation, it will be particularly important for landlords to know about their responsibilities. Our lettings team has already been training to get up to speed with the rules, so if you need advice do get in touch with them.’
Thanks to its tried and tested philosophy of focusing solely on W4 and its immediate surroundings with experienced staff who know the area street-by-street, Whitman & Co is currently achieving 99% of the asking price on properties sold.
‘If you need any advice or information about buying, selling or letting a property in Chiswick, do pop into the office and say hello or follow us on Social Media,’ says Chris. ‘We don’t make promises that we can’t keep and we back our local expertise to pay dividends for you.’
Whitman & Co
5-7 Turnham Green Terrace
Chiswick W4 1RG
020 8747 8800 / sales@whitmanandco.com
lettings@whitmanandco.com
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