VERY obviously, 2016 will go down in history as one of the most unusual and unpredictable years in a generation and of course the main event that shocked the country and the property market in the summer was the referendum result.

It is fair to say that the market slowed some decisions for people moving, but by the latter part of 2016 we felt the market was business as usual and life was going on quite happily.

Inevitably the reason people move is often quite fundamental which will likely carry more weight and importance than Brexit.

The key areas in which we operate in Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire on average saw an increase in house price inflation of around eight per cent and we expect 2017 to have another increase but perhaps at a more modest level.

At Perry Bishop and Chambers we are constantly working as hard as ever to improve our service even further and part of this is the expansion of our New Homes operation. We also plan to open an additional office in Stroud over the summer months.

We are delighted to have won further awards in 2016, in particular the trip advisor for our industry, Allagents, where buyers and sellers independently review their experience and share the service received with Perry Bishop and Chambers.

We are now in the top 50 of UK estate agents for excellent service out of a total of almost 25,000.

Our offices have started 2017 well and in particular are very busy on valuation appointments. We are seeing a good number of people that were thinking about moving last year but have yet to do so and are now more determined to move house in 2017.

We will of course be delighted to assist should you be considering a move this year, or if you would just like an update on the current valuation of your property please do not hesitate to make contact with us.