Wow, what a year that has been, not only in the world but also the property market. Here in St Ives, we have had our busiest year since we opened our doors in the spring of 2003.
It was a steady start to the year, nothing outstanding but not poor either and then we heard about a virus coming from abroad, no one really took too much notice initially and then at the end of March, an unprecedented lockdown, initially for 3 weeks and then a further 3 weeks. During this time, I was checking some empty properties in St Ives for insurance purposes, making sure all was in order, no leaking boilers, broken windows etc. It was eerily beautiful in St Ives, I remember sitting on the St Ives harbourfront, it was a stunning April morning around 10:30am and I'd just checked a property in downlong. For over 25 minutes it was just me on the harbourfront, not even a gull just the waves lapping on the sand, it was quiet, it smelt like the sea and it reminded me how beautiful this town is, it made many busy people take stock and re-appreciate this corner of Cornwall once again.
We had actually sale agreed 3 properties during lockdown completed on a number of sales and we held the keys for when people were allowed to travel again. When we finally went back in May, it was extremely busy, July 4th came and the stamp duty tax holiday kicked in and its been non stop ever since, even now, here in December, our traditional quiet period we are still racing around, selling and trying to complete on our existing sales.
We are all looking forward to the New Year and we all hope the vaccine works and we can get back to some normality, although here, in St Ives we have fared well.
We look forward to seeing you soon
Cross Estates