AFTER exchanging on more properties than expected in December, we have agreed terms on six properties so far this month.

I am reassured that the forthcoming year will be successful.

Properties we have sold recently range from a modern family house on the edge of Minchinhampton Common with a guide price of £835,000 to a country house just outside Tetbury with an asking price of £3,850,000.

I believe the property market is already showing good signs of buoyancy and the regional property market has an exciting time ahead.

Life goes on; there has been a strong start to the year for global stock markets, with many reaching or close to new highs.

By the morning of Tuesday, January 9, the FTSE 100 in the UK surpassed 7,700.

Exports are up, interest rates are low and the Brexit train looks to be on track and steaming ahead.

The Cirencester office has received serious enquiries from a broad cross-section of buyers, local, regional and from overseas.

Why?

People want to buy now – the sooner the better for many.

Most analysts are not expecting a serious uplift in London property prices until 2020, yet the Knight Frank London offices reported significant increased activity in November and December.

The stamp duty land tax increases that contributed to the cooling of the prime market has become absorbed and life goes on.

The Cotswolds and North Wiltshire are an outstanding area to live, work and play - the main reasons why demand for quality property outstrips supply.

However, my main message to vendors is to price realistically, generate competition and you will achieve the very best price.

Last year saw many sale price records broken across the board when the right marketing strategy was adopted.

This was partly made possible due to our individual negotiators forging an early and personal relationship with our clients and assisting the sale all the way through to handing over of the keys on completion.

Sensible buyers are not sitting on their hands anymore, life must go on and there is no time like the present.

In a nutshell, the experienced team I work with in Cirencester and throughout the Knight Frank partnership are confident that 2018 will be an excellent time to sell.