WE ARE already reporting a bumper start to 2015 with good activity in all five of the Perry Bishop and Chambers Cotswold branches.

The number of market appraisals we have already carried out is 10 per cent above last year and sales have already increased by seven per cent.

With the election campaign seemingly starting on January 1, we wondered whether the market would even be as buoyant as last year but, to the contrary, we were busy from day one providing free valuation and marketing reports.

We have strong levels of new applicants registering and high viewing levels which are already feeding through to increased sales.

The recent changes in stamp duty cooled the market for properties of £2 million or above, mostly in London, but have provided a stimulus to the housing market in general.

Estimates suggest that this alone will increase sales and prices between two and five per cent next year and we are optimistic about prices and activity for the year ahead.

Property portal Rightmove reports: “Early 2015 statistics point in the right direction for home-movers, with the Chancellor’s stamp duty Christmas present perhaps being the spur for people making new year resolutions to get on with moving.”

Perry Bishop won some prestigious awards at the end of 2014.

On the all agents’ website (trip advisor for estate agents) we were best office in Oxfordshire and first, second and third in Gloucestershire – a clean sweep.