Summer and the Property Market – With the summer months behind us and autumn on its way, although the weather tells a different story, it is a good time to look back at what happened to the property market in what should have been the quietest months of the year.
House Prices
During July and August there was a 0.4% rise in house prices which is showing that the property market is in the best state is has been in since 2007. It seems that the sunshine managed to tempt buyers into having a look at what is on offer in the market which helped turn around the quiet slump that is usually seen during the summer.
This is great news, especially if you are a landlord and looking to expand your portfolio or even sell some of your properties. Either way, you are in a good situation right now. Although if you are looking to buy, make sure you do it soon so you aren’t overpaying for a property that is in high demand.
If you have a second home which you are selling but it has been on the market for a while, why not consider renting it out for six months. This way you will make some extra income from a property that isn’t doing anything except costing you money. If this is the case though, make sure you read the guidelines on how to make you property suitable for a tenant and invest in a landlord insurance policy. You don’t want to rent the property out to find there is damage that needs to be repaired before you sell, especially if you aren’t covered with a policy.
Confidence
A report that was conducted by Hometrack proves that there is confidence returning to the market as not only are house prices increasing, properties are being sold a lot faster compared with the past couple of years. Annually prices are increasing by 1.8 percent which is the biggest rise since 2010. Now the average house price for a three bedroom house that is semi detached is around £154,000 according to the survey.
Alexander Gosling is the director of housesimple.co.uk which is a low cost estate agents that operates online, he has said, “It’s been an unexpectedly bumper summer for the property market. Soaring temperatures have certainly tempted more buyers out.
“But so has a welcome boost in buyer’s confidence thanks to Government schemes like Help to Buy and some very attractive mortgage rates from lenders keen to grab market share.
“Market activity has been buoyant and more viewings have been converting into sales. The hope is this momentum will continue into September and October.”
He continued, “This is a complete turnaround from last year, when sellers had to discount substantially to attract the few buyers who were out there.
“We’ve also noticed that bidding wars are back with a vengeance. For some of the best properties we’re seeing upwards of 10 people bidding against each other and final bids exceeding the asking price.”
Supply Vs. Demand
One of the reasons that this competition is back is due to more demand than supply. This means that buyers are after the same properties. London and the south east of England have experienced the most growth and therefore have the strongest market. Here the prices have increased by 0.9 and 0.5 per cent respectively.
Sophie Hall is from Avelo and she has said, “The mortgage market is flying and normally turbulent summer months are passing by.
“First time buyers and soaring prices in London and the South east are driving recovery, but this revival is starting to spread outwards.
“Government initiatives have added thrust to the industry and would be buyers are snapping up rock bottom mortgage rates.
Richard Donnell is the director of research at Hometrack and he has said, “All the key market indicators such as time in market and proportion of the asking price achieved, show housing market conditions are at levels not seen for six years.
“The growing strength of Britain’s housing market revival had a positive knock on effect for retailers who enjoyed their best sales growth for six months in August amid a surge in demand for home wares.”
Overall, the property market is getting stronger and stronger with more first time buyers entering the market through government help schemes. The average property price mentioned above is very regional so in some areas you may find that this average is actually higher than what you could be paying. If you are buying a three bedroom, semi detached property in the south; the price is likely to be higher than the average reported.