Housing Market Update January 2022
The Festive break and New Year celebrations – albeit somewhat muted this year, thank again to Covid – now seem a very long time ago but many of us already have one eye on the arrival of Spring. OK, we appreciate that we’re still in early February, but the evenings are starting to stretch out a little longer and the sight of snowdrops and gambolling lambs has certainly lifted our spirits!
Last year was nothing short of a whirlwind in terms of property sales and increases in property prices. It’s no secret that there’s always a lot of interest in properties between Christmas and New Year’s Eve (and well into January), and Rightmove reported that Boxing Day was the busiest day they had ever experienced in terms of visits to their website and mobile app.
Buyer demand was cited as the primary reason for this increased interest and here we are six weeks later with that same demand from potential buyers is still just as strong – there’s no escaping it, if you’re looking to sell your property then there are plenty of eager buyers waiting right now!
The small increase in the Bank of England base rate and subsequent rise in mortgage interest rates hasn’t had any immediate effect and most buyers seem to accept that whilst their repayments will increase in the months ahead, this isn’t any reason to hold back on buying their next home.
We are still finding demand for properties is high right across the South Lakes and North Lancashire, with houses in Arnside and Silverdale in particular being highly desirable for would-be buyers.
Although Rightmove’s most recent data would suggest that property prices in Silverdale are down compared to last year, we’d question this a little as, in our experience, buyers are willing to pay for this lovely location, especially detached and semi-detached houses.
The majority of sales in Silverdale during the last year were of detached houses, selling for an average price of £375,500 whilst semi-detached properties sold for an average of £354,833 with flats/apartments achieving an average of £209,800.
House Prices in Kendal – average price of £254,757 over the last year (11% increase).
House Prices in Milnthorpe – average price of £259,452 over the last year (20% increase).
House Prices in Grange-over-Sands – average price of £291,320 over the last year (10% increase).
House Prices in Arnside – average price of £360,203 over the last year (21% increase).
House Prices in Silverdale – average price of £314,679 over the last year (9% decrease).
House Prices in Carnforth – average price of £253,179 over the last year (8% increase).
Last week’s announcement regarding the higher energy price cap came as a blow to everyone with the prospect of combined gas and electricity annual bills increasing by nearly £700 per year.
Whilst we’ll all be tightening the purse strings to accommodate this rise, there are plenty of ways in which we’ll be looking to make our home more energy efficient and the Energy Saving Trust website is a good first port of call. MoneySuperMarket.com are always worth a visit to see what advice they have on the matter and MoneySavingExpert’s Martin Lewis also offers his advice on whether to stay with your current energy deal or switch to a fixed price product.
In other news, the TV personality Kirstie Allsopp managed to make the headlines by suggesting that first-time buyers should give up drinking lattes, cancel their Netflix subscriptions and move to cheaper parts of the country, telling The Times: “When I bought my first property, going abroad, the EasyJet, coffee, gym, Netflix lifestyle didn’t exist.”
As you can imagine, the backlash on social and mainstream media has been significant with Kirstie and her supporters fighting back and standing by the comments.
Here at Milne Moser, we’re acutely aware of the significant financial outlay that buying and selling property can entail and, to help you along where we can, we’re offering a 10% discount on conveyancing fees for anyone who sell their home with us and also use Milne Moser Solicitors for their conveyancing.
“We appreciate just how stressful many people find the whole buying and selling process, something which we’ll always endeavour to help make as easy as possible.” Comments Paige McNaughton, Sales Manager at Milne Moser.
“Having Milne Moser Solicitors and the sales and lettings agency under one roof at all three of our offices really does benefit our clients who appreciate the convenience of a ‘one-stop-shop’ solution.”
“By also offering a 10% discount on seller’s conveyancing fees we believe the combined legal and estate agency package from Milne Moser is an even more attractive proposition for anyone thinking of selling their home.”
Established in 1819, Milne Moser were the first Cumbrian solicitors to incorporate an estate and lettings agency in 1988, something which countless clients have appreciated ever since as they benefit from the ‘joined-up’ approach to property sales and associated legal matters.
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