Well, UK homeowners have been on somewhat of a roller-coaster ride over the last 18 months. Or so you would think to look at the national property price numbers. In 2008, UK house prices fell by around 20% subject to just what index or what region you examine. Values keep dropping all the way through 2009 and up to March 2010 at which point the green shoots of recovery began to emerge.
House prices have risen near constantly ever since. To begin with these signs of recovery were met with cynicism. The general consensus from property industry commentators was that this recovery had all the hallmarks of a “false dawn”. However, it seems that the recovery has more gas than first though and now those same industry commentators are ruminating over another question, “Is now the best time to try and sell a home since the peak of the market in 2007?
Unfortunately there is no clear answer to that!
Property valuation increases have been based on moderate growth in demand, met by a stark shortage of supply. In some areas – mainly the south and south west – demand for good property rose to crazy levels, these properties sparked bidding wars between desperate house buyers resulting in sales being achieved way in excess of the estate agents asking price.
This “hot” action in the south of England in turn scewed the property price indices and pushed up the nation averages for house price . The real story for most homeowners outside of the rarefied atmosphere of the South of England was very different. They were experiencing stagnating house prices and even continued drops in property values.
This is still the case, and now there is even doubt over whether the rises can be sustained in even the best areas. Until recently mortgage applications had been rising, and had even gone over the 50,000 per month mark that some suggest is a cut off point for a rising market, but recently this growth has stopped.
So, if you own a quality property in a good location, near good schools, close to attractions, good transport links and/or just highly sought after for any of those reasons, then… for you it is a good time to sell your UK property now — it might be the best time for a while to come.
If you own an average property on an average street… then not so much. That said: properties like that are unlikely to see any growth in value for quite some time, and like all properties in all areas, they face a real danger of a second correction bringing even more price falls.
The average UK house price is over 5 times the average salary, which shouts over-valuation to most analysts. On top of that the UK economy is far from out of the woods, and now we have a new government’s austerity measures (cut-backs) to contend with. This could mean higher taxes on property transactions, and will undoubtedly mean job cuts in the public sector.
So, all in all, moving home should warrant careful consideration, especially if you need to sell property fast for any reason.
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