“Historically, the fresh green leaves on the trees and the warmth of the welcome spring sunshine herald a spring in the step for the property market,” says Chris Pick, Business Development Manager and Valuer at Alasdair Morrison & Partners.
“And this year seems no different, despite its wobbly start! The fundamentals are certainly there to support an optimistic outlook – inflation has fallen to a healthy 2.3% and unemployment is at its lowest for 40 years.
“The initial economic upset following the Brexit referendum appears to have ‘washed through’ and global growth is also booming. Wage growth is at its highest for two-and-a-half years and people are clearly confident about their personal finances - a key component when considering a house move.”
Chris continues:
“In fact, people are potentially so confident that it looks like the Bank of England might just keep this in check by considering a rise in interest rates next month. But don’t worry – any increase is likely to be relatively insignificant for most home-movers.
“You may have read that house price growth has been slowing. This is true for the whole of the country but not for the East Midlands housing market, as we’ll discuss shortly. It’s worth noting that house prices are still rising, just not quite so strongly as previously, with national averages being dragged down by the tighter London market.”
Chris comments:
“When looking at the Rightmove April 2018 House Price Index, it’s interesting to note that the East Midlands housing market is still showing strong increases. The average house price is now £221,297, a monthly change of +1.5% and an annual change of +4.2%. Properties in this region are taking an average of 55 days to sell, indicating that we have strongly motivated buyers searching for property in this area.
“Rightmove figures indicate increasingly strong buyer interest, but with a subdued rate of annual asking price increase, suggesting buyers are increasingly price sensitive. This is borne out by the fact that the number of viewings per property is on the rise too (up from 11 last year to 19 today according to one survey, although we find it generally takes nowhere near that number of viewings before we receive an offer on the property we have for sale).
“Therefore, perhaps we have as near to a balanced, ‘normal’ housing market as can be expected for this time of year, although we still have far more buyers than properties to sell.”
Chris finishes:
“If you are contemplating a house move – somewhere bigger, smaller, quieter or more convenient, then now would be an excellent time to take advantage of the spring market. Why not call us for a friendly no-obligation chat on 01636 700888 or 01636 813971 as we’d love to help you move.”
