Property Price Market Update March 2010

Quick snap shot:
For buyers, there may be a bit more choice as the number of properties for sale has increased. Hometrack have reported that "over the last six months of 2009 the supply of homes for sale grew by 1% while sales volumes grew by 20%". However, for sellers excited to see 'house price growth' in the headlines, be realistic, prices aren't going up everywhere, in fact any increases are very regional and prices are still over 10% less, on average than 2007 levels.

However, February and March figures look far more rosey than January's. But it's not a time to get too excited as the market doesn't appear to be 'doing much' this year at all - apart from London which does appear to be doing well versus 2009 and may even catch up this year to 2007 levels.  

If you have any queries or comments on our property reports contact us on 0845 838 1763 or email enquiries@designsonproperty.co.uk. We can also help you value your own home if you need an independent view of how to value the property.

What's Happening in my Area? 
There are two bits of data that are useful when working out what's happening in your area. The first is the Land Registry which measures 'sold prices' and reflects what HAS happened to property prices.

In this month's review, the 7% increase in prices on average breaks down into London being up by 12% and the North East falling by 2.3%. Other areas performing above the 7% are the South West and East. No surprises, these are typically areas that are very restricted in supply and London will always be the first region to recover from any economic problems, so leads the house price growth index. Meanwhile, Yorkshire and Humber, East Midlands and Wales are still underperforming versus the national average.

Outside of London, Brighton and Hove was the best performer as prices grew by 13.5% year on year while Kingston upon Hull suffered a big decline of 6.8%. Proving that average property price growth of 7% doesn't reflect what's really happening at a local level.  

Property type wise, the biggest growth in volume is the £1million and £500-£600k price brackets.  

Another way to see what's happening NOW in your local area, we use For Sale Sign Analysis's data which tracks the number of properties sold versus for sale. This is a great way of 'watching' your own market. All you need to do is to pick a street with 10 boards, then add up how many are for sale versus sold. Anything below 4/10 sale boards shows a below average performance, anything above 4/10 shows a good performance. In some really attractive areas for example, there are six sold boards to every 10 properties for sale/sold. 

Click here for Best Performing Areas
Including: Winchester, Fleet and Newmarket.

Click here for Average Performing Areas
Including: Tenterden, Loughborough and Stratford Upon Avon.

Click here for Worst Performing Areas
Including: Newton Aycliffe, Hucknall and Peterlee.

Want FSSA data for your particular area? Then call 0845 308 2004 or email enquiries@designsonproperty.co.uk


Best Performing Areas