Fri 30 Aug 2019

written by naomi baron

How is the West Midlands Faring in the Latest Property Industry Trends?

 

With tales of increased positivity across various sectors within the property industry, we take a look at the overall statistics of the housing market in August. 

August is not usually a sales agent’s best month, with Summer holidays and back to school preparations taking the forefront of many people’s minds!  However, there has been a national increase in the sales prices year on year of 1.2% despite the price of property falling by 1.0% in this typical seasonal lull.

What has Brexit got to do with it?

We have seen more home sales registered across our offices, as buyers seem to be spurred into action in a pre-Brexit sales spree!  Nationally, we see the number of sales agreed up 6.1% on this time 2018.  This certainly goes a long way to make up for the slightly more cautious start to the year.

The increase of sales agreed has, we think, definitely got something to do with the increase of mortgages approved and an increase in confidence in longer-term lending. 

In short, with the latest Government deadlines seeming more concrete than the previous ones, sellers are lowering their prices slightly, and buyers are making the most of this opportunity to secure a deal. 

What’s Happening in the West Midlands?

• The average price of property is £228,839;
• This is a monthly change of -0.7%;
• An annual increase of 1.5%;
• Average time to sell remains low at 54 days.

Ian Williams, Director comments:

We expect a seasonal increase in the Autumn once people have finished with holidays and are back to the normal run of things.  However, this seems to have been brought forward by the current political activities.  We see buyers being bold, which matches with more determined sellers.  If you want to be in your new home by the end of the year, you can’t continue to hold off financial or emotional forces that drive you to sell your home or buy a new one.