Having just gone past the half-way mark for the year, some interesting statistics have been released in relation to the performance of the housing market for the first six months of 2018.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) have recently announced that the average time between a home being listed and selling has increased from 16 weeks in spring 2017 to 18 weeks in spring 2018.  June was the 16th successive month of decline and has impacted on the speed with which house prices have been rising.

At the end of June, Halifax announced that average house prices in the UK rose by just 1.8% during the first six months of 2018, the slowest growth since March 2013. In fact, between the beginning April and the end of June this year, average house prices dropped by 0.7%; the largest quarterly decline since February 2012.  This has however re-invigorated the first-time-buyer market, with the average price for a home in the UK now being £225,654.

The property market remaining “flat” has been partially blamed on various tax changes, including the introduction of the higher rate Stamp Duty Land Tax for second homes and investment properties in April 2016, as well as the almost constant threat of an interest rate increase.

High Value Property – What Does it Take to Reach £1m?

A recent report by the BBC, based on Land Registry data, looked at the number of residential properties selling for over £1 million pounds over the last 10 years.  It identified three local authority areas within Lancashire where no residential properties had achieved a 7 figure sale price; Burnley, Pendle and Hyndburn.

This is not, however, due to a lack of high-end properties within those areas; in Pendle, a gated five-bedroom home built in 1890, which retains some of its original features such as oak panelling and servants’ bells is for sale at an asking price of £875,000, while in Hyndburn, a 19th century four-bedroom farmhouse with 15 acres of land and stables is for sale for slightly less.

As would be expected though, the local authority with the highest number for residential sales in excess of £1 million was in London, being Westminster with 12,917 sold since 2007 and the most expensive residential property being £90,000,000.  The total number of residential properties sold for more than £1 million in England and Wales during the same period was 125,898.

By comparison, the table below provides a breakdown by local authority area of the number of residential properties in Lancashire that sold for in excess of £1 million and the maximum sale price achieved during the period January 2007 to the end of June 2018.

Local Authority Area No. Residential Properties sold for more than £1m Maximum Residential Property sale price
Blackburn 4 £1,860,000
Blackpool 3 £2,400,000
Burnley 0 £900,000
Chorley 19 £9,650,000
Fylde 43 £3,000,000
Hyndburn 0 £928,000
Lancaster 12 £2,500,000
Pendle 0 £900,000
Preston 3 £3,500,000
Ribble Valley 35 £3,000,000
Rossendale 3 £1,350,000
South Ribble 4 £1,270,000
West Lancashire 25 £2,950,000
Wyre 7 £1,400,000

Lancashire clearly has its fair share of high-value properties but with prices not increasing at the same rate as some other areas in England and Wales, while benefitting from excellent transport links, it remains attractive to those buyers wanting value for money. Our residential conveyancing team has experience dealing with properties at all levels of the market, anywhere within England and Wales.

Get in touch with Farleys’ residential property team on 0845 287 0939 or email us today.