I’m going to be honest with you. This week has been one of those weeks where the property market and normal life have been competing for attention, and normal life has been winning on points.
The heatwave has been extraordinary — the third of the year, which is not something any of us expected to be saying in July. Formby has been glorious, the beach has been packed, and anyone thinking about booking viewings has very sensibly decided that Saturday afternoon in thirty-degree heat is not the moment to assess whether a conservatory gets too warm in summer. It does. They all do. Moving on.
Then there’s the football. England versus Norway, quarter-final, ten o’clock tomorrow night UK time. The nation is in that very specific state of cautious optimism that we have learned, through painful experience, to keep very quiet about. We don’t want to jinx it.
What this combination of heatwave and World Cup has done to the market is entirely predictable — it has slowed it down. Activity in July tends to ease off anyway as families go on holiday and the urgency of the spring market gives way to a more relaxed summer pace. Add thirty-five degree temperatures and a late-night quarter-final and you have a market that is operating at about sixty percent of capacity, which is fine. It always picks back up.
What is worth paying attention to, behind the sunshine and the football, is the broader picture. House prices across the North West are among the strongest performing in the country — up meaningfully year on year while London has actually fallen — and Formby specifically remains one of the most sought-after addresses in the region. Stock levels are still relatively limited against demand for the right properties, which means that well-priced family homes in good locations continue to attract serious interest even in a quieter month.
There is political noise in the background too — the Labour leadership situation is creating a little uncertainty nationally, with buyers taking a breath while they work out what a potential change of Prime Minister means for property taxes and the rental sector. Our honest view is that the Formby market is well insulated from short-term political turbulence. The people who want to live here are not going anywhere, and the supply of genuinely good homes coming to market is not going to suddenly increase.
So if you are thinking about selling this autumn — and September and October are traditionally two of the strongest months of the year — now is exactly the right time to be having that conversation. Not when the market is already busy, but before it is.
You know where we are. Stay cool, enjoy the football, and give us a call when you’re ready.
