There have been some significant changes in our local property market over the last 6-12months that we feel are worth reporting on. 

We have been in a sellers market for years now and over the last couple of years sales have been very healthy and thankfully new listings have been plentiful. Consequently, supply has pretty much matched demand, resulting in a healthy market with respectable yet sustainable growth. 

For years now the local property market has been made up of approximately 80% local purchasers and about 20% off Island purchasers. However, there has recently been a significant change to this ratio as more and more new residents flock to our shores. Over the last 6 months this ratio has been around 60% locals and 40% off Island purchasers, although there is always an increase in new residents during this period as many wish to be resident by the end of the tax year. When asked, the most popular reasons for these relocations are UK Government, employment, retirement, taxation and general quality of life.

This massive influx of new residents has resulted in a significant increase in sales, particularly at the higher end of the market, resulting in current stock levels being at an all time low between £950,000 and around £3million. The Manxmove team now have a substantial list of chain free purchasers at this level urgently looking for new listings to come to market. Consequently, we are frequently able to match purchasers to properties at the valuation stage so quite a few of these transactions never make it onto the open market. I’m sure you will have seen the many wanted adverts Manxmove have posted on social mediarecently.

This lack of choice has obviously resulted in increased competition between purchasers,which sometimes unfortunately results in bidding wars and offers above asking prices. Whilst this is something agents generally dread as there are always one or more disappointed customers it is something every agent is legally obliged to deal with. 

Whilst bidding wars and offers in excess of asking prices in sellers markets are not unusual at the lower end of the market I don’t think I have seen so much competition on £1million plus properties for well over 20 years. Hopefully the historically healthy Spring months will go some way to redress this balance and stock levels will inevitably increase, returning the market to some kind or normality. 

The lower and mid range section of the market is also short of stock due to all agents achieving healthy sales during 2025, so the sellers market is not unique to the higher end of the market. This section is predominately local purchasers made up of a lot of first time buyers, growing families moving up the ladder, downsizers and tenants also keen to get ontothe property ladder. Although stock is also short in this section at present, valuations and new listings are picking up nicely now as we head towards Spring so I’m confident stock levels will recover as they always do at this time every year.  

Inevitably even in a healthy seller’s market there are always some properties that unfortunately don’t attract much interest. The main reason for this is normally price as there are numerous buyers out there who are presumably finding better value for money elsewhere. Vendors of these homes should have their agents re-value them and compare them with current competition. A price reduction and a re-fresh of the details and photographs normally does the trick. 

There has been a substantial reduction in buy to let investors recently due to healthy market conditions, increased property prices and increased competition between buyers. Cash investors can obviously usually offer vendors a quick uncomplicated chain free sale. However, price-wise they are rarely able to compete with buyers that are looking for homes to live in as these purchasers are obviously not looking for an immediate return on their investment.

The rental market has also been incredibly buoyant over the last 12 months again due to a shortage of available homes. Consequently, rental prices have soared so in many cases it can be considerably cheaper to pay a mortgage to buy an equivalent property than to rent it. Small two bedroom modern mews homes on the popular estates like Cronk y Berry, Farmhill and Governors can now easily and quickly achieve £1300 PCM, whereas traditional 1930s semi detached homes in Douglas have been known to achieve £1650 PCM. Medium sized 4 bedroom detached homes can quickly achieve around £2800 PCM. Sadly, tenants looking to buy will understandably be finding it difficult to save a deposit for a mortgage whilst paying these rental prices. 

So, a healthy local market on the whole which will benefit massively from an increase in new listings that will hopefully arrive as we head towards Spring. Sadly, it’s a very difficult market at the moment if you are a purchaser or a tenant looking for an affordable rental that’s for sure. If you are considering putting your property on the market however, for the reasons above there has never been a better time in the last 3 years to sell in my opinion.      

Our amazing Manxmove team are obviously available and motivated to help with all aspects of your IOM property requirements. We also sell numerous properties a year that never make onto the open market as we are able to match there transactions to a list of no chain purchasers at the valuation stage. If you are a chain free purchaser or if you are a vendor looking to sell discreetly and would like to be added to this list please let us know. 

If you are looking for professional help with all aspects of relocating to IOM Manxmove recommend Prime Relocation IOM who also provide a home locator service as well as honest video tours and livestream viewings of all local properties. www.primerelocationiom.com 

In the meantime have a look at our 5 star reviews on Facebook and Google to see what our customers are saying about us.

Graham Wilson FNAEA (DipREA)

Director

Manxmove Limited