Peter Morgan Estate Agents opened its doors in Windsor Road in June 1980 and has, for the past 30 years, provided a service to the residents of to the town of Neath.

Having sold thousands of homes, they are now rightly regarded as the property experts, and their opinions are often sought after and always regarded.

2008 was the most difficult trading period in the last 30 years, as house sales fell to a record low.

2009 has thankfully seen some easing of the situation locally and there has been an increase in house sales.

House prices reached their peak early in 2007. Since then, prices have fallen by approximately 20%.  Professional opinion now states that property prices in the area have now levelled and over the next several years will probably only rise slowly, in line with inflation rates.

Confidence is returning to the market, however the recovery is fragile, and the improvement could be upset by any further economic problems.

Banks or building societies now require large deposits from purchasers, and unfortunately this has held back the recovery further.   Unless lenders change their policies there will not be an improvement in lending; however the Government has stated that they are pressing the lending institutions to relax their criteria.  We are not yet seeing an indication that this is happening.

Any recovery is not being led by first time purchasers; rather by buyers with deposits, who are seeking a better return for their money, possibly by providing deposits for their children, or by entering the buy-to-let market.  The rental market is buoyant, because those who cannot purchase due to the lack of a mortgage deposit, are renting, thereby increasing the demand for good quality rented property.

The whole demographic of house-ownership, once the pride of Great Britain is now altering.

Locally large employers such as Ford and Corus seem to be riding out the recession, and this is obviously good for our area.

Neath is a fine town to live in!  We have a forward thinking local authority which is bucking the trend for out of town shopping, and which is seeking to improve our town centre with a major redevelopment.  We have good quality schools.  We are well sited for road and rail communications.

Neath has a good stock of traditional, modernised Victorian housing and over the past 30 years  we have seen many of the major national house-builders develop new sites in the area, constantly improving the availability of quality modern homes in the area.

To those first time purchasers fortunate enough to be in a position to buy, their first home will now be more affordable than it has been for many years. This coupled with mortgage interest rates being very low, means that now is a very good time to get on the property ladder.

So, a message for the first time purchaser – PUT YOUR HEAD OVER THE PARAPET AND CHECK OUT HOUSE PRICES – YOU SHOULD BE SURPRISED!