A Kenilworth estate agent has said she is expecting there to be a new year surge in the local property market.

Julie Philpot of Julie Philpot Residential is predicting that the end of the stamp duty holiday will not lead to a quieter 2022, but instead will see a swathe of homes hit the market.

Having already described the end of the duty holiday as "the morning after the night before" Julie is not expecting a let up after two hectic years.

"Even before the first lockdown we were really busy," she said.

"Since then, it has not stopped at all. And with the stamp duty holiday it was just crazy."

Having been working from home in early 2020 Julie was able to keep trading during the first lockdown, before moving into her new office in June that year.

As well as selling properties across town, Julie also found herself doing valuations for clients who were considering extending with a view to possibly selling in the future.

"This is something that other estate agents don't do," she said. "But we saw a lot of people looking into this during the pandemic."

And it is a mixture of these clients, and people who have waited for 'normal life' to resume again, that Julie predicts will be selling in 2022.

She said: "In Kenilworth what is going to come next is we are going to have a busy new year. A lot of people let the stamp duty madness go by and now they are starting to think about moving in 2022.

"We have lots of people who have been putting their lives on hold for the past two years and are going to sell – so we are going to be busy."

Despite the end of the duty holiday Julie has also warned that waiting times for completion are still long, and has said much of this is due to solicitors having too much to get through.

"If there is one thing that we could get across to people it is chose a professional and qualified solicitor. The bane of our lives is poor conveyancing companies," she added.

"What happens is you do the best for your client, but you're in a middle of a chain and you cannot do anything about what is going on either side of you.

"So I say to people please use someone who is recommended to you because the stress it causes otherwise is immense."

But for people who are looking to buy or sell next year – especially the 'Boxing Day browsers' as she nicknamed them – Julie has given some advice.

"What I would say to people is if you are looking to purchase you really need to do your research and then book your viewings straight away for the new year, especially with the bank holidays.

"We are going to be very busy, so make sure you are prepared."

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