STRUTT & Parker’s National Open House Day achieves record annual figures as country market bounces back post-Brexit vote

  • 700 properties took part across the country
  • Over 1,200 viewings were carried out in total
  • £80 million worth of offers received; more than the total figure achieved in February’s event

Leading estate agent Strutt & Parker held its 12th National Open House day event on Saturday, October 8, opening the doors to all of the houses taking part up and down the country, at the same time and on the same day.

700 properties took part covering counties from Cornwall to Northumberland.

The event proved to be one of the most successful yet, with over more than 1,200 viewings taking place throughout the day.

Over £80 million worth of offers registered with the firm as a direct result, £20 million more than the total offers received from the same event held in February. The number and value of offers accepted was also up.

Sam Trounson from Strutt & Parker’s Cirencester office said: “These fantastic figures show us that the country house market post-Brexit vote is healthy and there are lots of committed buyers out there. We received approximately £20 million more in offers than in February when we were in the grip of uncertainty surrounding the Brexit vote in June. Confidence is returning as many have realised that the impact of Brexit on the UK country market is limited and that life goes on. The success also demonstrates that people have adjusted to the Stamp Duty Land Tax changes.”

“In our local office, we had more sellers taking part this year in our National Open House Day event compared to the same time last year. Autumn has long been one of the busiest times of the year for house hunters. Those who are committed are often keen and ready to move before Christmas – so Open House Day was perfect for capitalising on that.”

The day itself began with a clear, crisp, autumn morning, which made excellent weather for viewing houses. Serious house hunters came out in their droves to see the selection of properties on offer, with standout properties receiving up to 20 viewings in just a few hours.

Sam continued“Compared to our earlier event in the year, buyers seemed much more driven and this is reflected in the offers they were making, often at guide price and, in some competitive cases, even above!”

“Pricing has been an important issue this summer and we were particularly careful to make sure our houses were on at realistic guide prices before the event. If a property is priced too high, it runs the risk of being discounted from a buyer’s viewing list, even if it ticks every other box. The concept of our Open House Day and the key to its success is to encourage buyers to look at houses they might not have previously considered. We know from this and previous events that they do go on to buy.”

The overall theme that was repeated on the day was the correlation between houses that have had recent price changes and those that received the highest viewing levels.