Positive outlook for UK property market
Agents, developers and home owners in the UK believe there is a lot of optimism in the property market at the start of 2013 despite the less than bright economic outlook. They are reporting a lot of interest that is backed up by home owners who say they think house prices will increase this year.
Linden Homes said that it sold an average of a home a day for the entire month of January with its northern region reporting gross sales of around £6.5 million at its developments across North East Lincolnshire, East Riding and Humberside. It has also expanded with the launch of a number of new developments at locations including Methley, North Ferriby and York.
It pointed out that developer and government led incentives are continuing to offer assistance to those either looking to move up or onto the housing ladder. ‘During January we have effectively seen one house sale per day with our sales up by £1.5 million on the same time last year. We are delighted that our customers continue to be inspired by our home and our locations, and that we in turn can offer some great incentives to help them achieve their dream,’ said sales director Steve Woomble.
Quote from PropertyCommunity.com : “More house hunters are contacting estate agents in the UK with the latest figures showing numbers up 41% in December last year since their lowest levels for the month in 2008.”
The number of people looking to move home is at its highest level for five years according to haart, the UK’s largest independent estate agent. It said that the number of prospective buyers registering their interest during January was higher than at any time since 2008. Total potential buyer levels last month rose 5.3% on the same time last year to 24,600. They were also up 13% on the same time five years ago. The highest number of potential buyers registered by haart was in January 2007 at the height of the property boom when 37,502 registered with the company during the first four weeks of the month.
The firm is investing £5million in its 125 plus branch network across the UK and is increasingly using technical innovations such as iPad apps, Facebook Property apps and dedicated YouTube property channels to enable potential customers to search for property whilst on the move. ‘The market showed real signs of life towards the end of 2012 and has picked up where it left off at the start of 2013. Traditionally buyers wait until the spring to register but we have found that both buyers and sellers have accepted house prices aren’t going to return to former levels over the short to medium term and have therefore decided not to delay moving any longer,’ said Russell Jervis, managing director of haart.
He pointed out that the number of new properties valued by haart last month was up 13% on the same time last year. ‘Whilst you can’t predict what is going to happen over the remainder of the year, these figures certainly provide some encouragement to those people looking to move. With so many people looking to move, the opportunity to sell has not been so strong in many years,’ he said.
Meanwhile, the latest House Price Sentiment Index from property consultants Knight Frank and economics consultancy Markit shows that home owners in all 11 UK regions covered by the survey are positive about the outlook for the property market in 2013. It is the first time that all regions expect the price of their home to rise for more than two and a half years. Londoners are more positive about the prospect of their homes rising in price over the next 12 months followed by those in the South East and Wales, according to the index.