I have been asked a lot over the last couple of weeks what
effect COVID19 is going to have on the local housing market? I wish I knew the
answer to that question, but at the moment we are taking things day-by-day and trying to adapt!
What I can tell you though, is that as we sit in here in lockdown,
we are still receiving offers on properties from potential buyers who viewed
with us last week. We are still receiving a high number of requests for viewings which although we cannot physically carry out, we are working on ways to get around
the restrictions by increasing the number of video tours, 360 degree virtual tours and virtual
viewings for all our properties so that we can get still get our clients moving.
This tells me that people are looking forward to the future
and staying positive, and we have to do the same! When this this is over everyone
will want to get back to normal as quickly as possible and it is our job to help
that happen.
Although that is how I currently feel, I thought I would
look into the situation in more detail and see how the prices of properties
within M19 have changed since land registry data was collated and made available
in 1995.
Since that date we have seen the stock market crash on
numerous occasions, most notably after 9/11 in 2001, then again in Oct 2007.
Both of these crashes had varying effects on the housing market with the worst
being the housing market crash in 2008.
In M19 in 1995 the average price of a property was £36,542, and there
were 453 property transactions in the year. 2019 the average price was £237,229
with 511 property transactions. This is an increase in 25 years of 649% which
to me is pretty amazing!
When I look at the stock market crash after 9/11 I see no decrease
in property prices what I actually see is that prices have increased by just under £8,000
on average for the year up to end of 2002.
The big change came after the crash in 2007/8 which was felt
for a longer period and took eight years to get to where it had been before. The
biggest effect on the average prices was due to the number of transactions annually
which decreased by over 400 properties between 2007 and 2009.
In the last 5 years in M19 we have see an increase in
average property prices from £133,681 to £237,229 which is an increase of 171%
which is pretty impressive.
What is not going to change in M19 is its proximity to the
City Centre, excellent transport links and easy access to local amenities, so the demand for
properties within the postcode should not change either. People will always
need somewhere to live and due to the limited amount of area available for new
development the level of demand should continue to be higher than the number of
available properties.
If you are looking for a family home where you plan to spend
the next 5 to 15 years you should never be in a position of negative equity. If
you stay for the full length of a 25-year + mortgage your property should definitely
see a good increase by the end of the term!
So to summarise, the property market goes up and down as
factors effect it but bricks and mortar are always going to be a wise
investment and show a profit long term.