We are coming up for the end of another busy year and many of us will be going out of town on leave.
At the very least you will be closing down for three weeks or if you do keep open your commercial properties will often be in areas where most of the businesses will close down for the year-end break.
Many may be faced with security problems, and if you don’t arrange property security before you leave you could face major challenges.
Have you booked your full-time security for this period?
But it is more than physical security.
Have you done a cloud back-up of your computers so that if you come back in January to find they are all missing you can quickly get back into business?
If you have CCTV, is it linked to a security company so that they are able to react when there is a break-in and look after your place for burst pipes and storm damage?
It’s important to attend to these issues before going for the holidays.
Looking ahead, there are indications that interest rates could rise again in the new year particularly in the second quarter.
This is in the face of low local demand and contrary to the current economic cycle but likely to be forced on us when US rates rise as a result of Biden era policies.
The increases are likely to be small – at least 0.25 of a percentage point per step – and unlikely to have a major effect on the local market.
The biggest effect will be the cost of holding top end properties and affordability for those entering the market.
It might actually help the property market by moderating exceptionally high asking prices by those looking to sell.
Asking prices have continued to grow at an unprecedented pace in an economy which is said to be weak and where so many don’t have incomes.
A rather strange state of affairs.
- Mike Spencer is the founder and owner of Platinum Global. He is also a professional associated property valuer and consultant with work across the country as well as Eastern Europe and Australia.