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Welcome to the Hannells Market pulse – a short roundup of what’s been happening in the local derby market and from across the rest of the UK.
One of the hot topics, and certainly over the last few weeks with some massively increased exposure, is the General elections, set to take place on May 7th. There was a lot of uncertainty at the beginning of the year with regards to how big an impact the elections would have on the property market.
So far, we’re pleased to report that we’re not yet seeing any negative effects with plenty of newly available stock appearing on a daily basis. In March alone, the six branches of Hannells took on a record 170 new listings.
Buyer demand is still high out there, especially with the great weather we’ve been having, again in March, we registered across our local network 705 new buyers – the second highest number over the last 8 months. Sales are still coming in thick and fast too with sales being tied up across the price ranges and all suburbs.
So depending on which party gets elected, we could see some big changes to the sales and lettings market place with housing high up on the agenda of most political party’s manifestos.
The conservatives have put home ownership at the heart of their housing strategy in their 2015 manifesto. Citing the help to buy scheme, they promise the creation of 200,000 starter homes for first time buyers.
As well as extending the Help to Buy scheme – which didn’t have the expected impact in the Derby marketplace – and the help to buy ISA where for every £1 you save, the government will add 25p. They have also announced plans to extend the right to buy scheme to housing association tenants.
David Cameron and the Labour party have argued for a hands off approach with voluntary codes of conduct so as not to stifle the market.
Labour’s 5 Billion future homes fund to build new houses is a major feature in their manifesto with first time buyers set to benefit the most as their report suggests that local governments will give first call to first time buyers in areas of housing growth.
Plus there’s the controversial “mansion tax” with owners of property worth £2million paying at least an extra £3,000 a year in taxes to help fund the NHSs.
As with the Convservatives, they’re committing to building 200,000 homes a year and introducing a “use it or lose it” policy to stop developers sitting on land without building on it.
Renters are also featured in the manifesto including a ceiling on rent rises and national register of private landlords in a bid to drive up standards of rental properties. Plus, they’ll be looking to introduce 3 year tenancies and ban letting agents from charging fees to tenants.
The Lib Dems have pledged 300,000 new homes a year in their manifesto as well as a government backed housing investment bank to help attract finance for major house building projects. They’ll also be giving local authorities more flexibility to borrow to build affordable housing and renters will also be helped with the promise of a “help to rent” scheme to provide government backed tenancy deposits for all first time renters under 30.
According to UKIP, a house needs to be built every seven minutes in order to meet and keep up with demand. They have promised to build one million homes on brownfield sites by 2020, while protecting the green belt and brining empty homes back into use.
They also argue that the right to buy and help to buy schemes should be restricted to British nationals only.
So, with housing so high up on the agenda, it’s going to be an extremely interesting election for estate agents across the country and here at Hannells we’ll be keeping a close eye on things.
We’ve talked a lot about the elections so far and without keeping you hanging around for too long, I just wanted to take a look at some of the most recent statistics that might affect you.
The Land Registry reports that in February, average houses prices were up .5% on the previous month with a current average asking price of £180,252. The average price in the East Midlands stands at £134,032 and here in the City of Derby – we’ve got an average price of £112,147 showing once again what great value for money the city offers.
In other news Year on year, repossessions have seen a 35% decrease across the east midlands and Halifax is the first lender to introduce a five year fixed rate at below 2% – but you need a 40% deposit to take advantage. Don’t forget, if you haven’t already – make sure you book in with one of our in house fully independent adivsers – 8 out of 10 customers who see them walk away with a better deal!
Here at Hannells, we’re also delighted to announce that recent results show that our SOLD boards account for 36.9% of the total SOLD boards throughout Derby and the surrounding suburbs. It’s a massive accomplishment for all of the team here at Hannells and shows that we sell more than four times as many houses as the next best agent!
Well that’s it for this week – I hope you feel up to date with regards to the changes the election may bring and I hope you’ve enjoyed watching. We’ll be back next month with more news, updates, hints and tips so once again, thanks for watching – and if you are buying, selling, renting or letting with us – I hope we’ve helped to make it a moving experience!
If you have a property in Derby and you’re thinking of selling, why not arrange your FREE market consultation with Hannells today. Drop in and visit or or view the contact details for all six of our local Derby branches HERE.
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