Housing Market Update February 2022
Since we last wrote, it feels like the world has once again been thrown into turmoil with the simply terrible events taking place in Ukraine and, like everyone else, our thoughts are never far away from everyone affected by this unprecedented and tragic conflict with the hope that a peaceful resolution can soon be negotiated.
Back here at home, the UK’s housing market is still making the headlines for continued growth in property prices, both asking prices and agreed sales.
The Halifax House Price Index reports that house prices in February 2022 were 10.8% higher than February 2021, with a 0.5% monthly average increase on selling prices – or £1,478 in actual cash terms – in what was the eight consecutive month in which property prices have increased.
The Halifax go on to state that “over the last 12-months [from February 2021], house prices have gained on average £27,215… the biggest one-year cash rise recorded in over 39 years of index history.”
“These figures are quite incredible and, for anyone looking to sell, the numbers are something which really can’t be ignored.” Says Paige McNaughton, Sales Manager at Milne Moser Property Limited: “Buyer demand is still the primary driving force behind the booming property market with the majority of homes being snapped-up shortly after coming to the market.”
“In terms of location, we’re still experiencing a lot of enquiries for Kendal and the immediate surrounding villages and hamlets such as Staveley, Sedgwick, Grayrigg and Old and New Hutton.”
“Arnside and Silverdale also continue to be sought-after locations for both buyers and renters and we’d strongly recommend any owners in the area looking to downsize and release equity in their property to get in touch with our offices in Milnthorpe and Carnforth.”
As mentioned in one of our recent articles, our colleagues at Milne Moser Solicitors are also setting the pace when it comes to legal matters surrounding property sales and lettings, with their average conveyancing completion times at less than 90 days.
There is still talk of there being a modest increase in the Bank of England base rate a reflective rise in mortgage interest rates, but the general feeling across the financial and property press is that these will all be kept in check to ensure that the economy can rebound and start to grow again in the wake of the Covid pandemic and few buyers are citing this as a reason to hold back on securing their next home.
House Prices in Kendal were at an average of £242,933 in February, with terraced properties selling for an average price of £219,272, semi-detached properties selling for an average of £249,461 and detached properties reaching £370,197 on average.
House Prices in Milnthorpe saw an average price of £267,020 during February with detached properties selling for an average of £469,222.
In Grange-over-Sands, house prices stand at an average price of £272,288 with detached properties in highest demand and selling for an average price of £386, 618, and flats for an average of £171,270.
In Arnside, the average property selling price in February was £357,742 with flats accounting for the highest number of properties sold at an average price of £286,389 and detached homes selling for an average of £467,504.
Along the shore to in Silverdale where average price stands at £308,930, Rightmove’s figures indicate that terraced properties and flats are high in demand behind detached properties.
Semi-detached and terraced properties continue to be the most popular in Carnforth with an average price of £249,176 for the town reported.
“There will invariably be a little ‘settling down’ of the property sales market in the year ahead as there simply won’t be the same number of people wishing to move as we have experienced since the middle of 2020.” Concludes Paige.
“Compared to some regions of the UK, the South Lakes and North Lancashire haven’t historically seen anything that you would consider to be ‘volatile’ in the housing market. Whislt properties have seen more modest growth in value, this has been more sustainable without the flip-side of prices dropping.”
“We have also had good interest in our 10% discounted legal fees for anyone selling their home with us and also using Milne Moser Solicitors for their conveyancing and will be continuing to offer this to our clients.”
But selling your home isn’t the only way to generate an extra income as many of Milne Moser’s customers have appreciated over recent years, as Kate Ridley, Letting Manager, explains: “If you are in a position to down-size for whatever reason or simply wish to generate an income from the equity in your property without having to sell, then letting could be worth considering.”
“We appreciate that not everyone wants to become a landlord and all of the logistics that entails, and that’s why our Fully Managed Lettings Service is so popular.”
“From free inspection and market appraisal, finding a suitable tenant and drawing-up agreements to making periodic inspections and managing any repairs and maintenance, our service provides complete peace of mind that your property and your interests are being looked after.”
Tenant demand across the UK is still very healthy and Rightmove also report it to be 32% higher than this time last year. In this month’s Rental Price Tracker, Rightmove are also predicting that asking rentals will be 5% higher in 2022 compared to last year.
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Article references:
Halifax House Price Index (https://www.halifax.co.uk/media-centre/house-price-index.html)
Bank of England Money and Credit Report (https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/statistics/money-and-credit/2022/january-2022)
Rightmove Rental Price Tracker (https://www.rightmove.co.uk/news/rental-price-tracker/)
