Is Southampton really a property hotspot?

IMG 9922Is Southampton really a property hotspot? Director of Enfields Bitterne, Kevin Ashley, takes a look at current market conditions for those thinking of buying or selling a property around Bitterne Park.

 

The property market continues to draw commentary from all areas of the media (it sometimes feels like a national hobby!) and in some articles Southampton has even been highlighted as a property hotspot.

I would like to set the scene a little and give a few headline figures.

From our office on West End Road, we cover all of the SO18 & SO19 postcodes as well as St Denys and West End. There are at least 40,000 properties in these areas. From the properties that we sold that went through to a successful completion our figures show us the average price in 2014 was £183,062.

In 2015 that figure jumped to £198,891 – an increase of £15,829, or 8.6% on the average price in a single year. To compare with prices from a little further back, I did an article for bitternepark.info in 2013 when the average price in 2012 in these areas was £166,184, so from 2012 to 2015 the increase is £32,707.

So what's bringing about this surge in property prices?

Not enough homes being built

Clearly, there are just not enough properties coming on to the market to satisfy demand. Why this is happening is difficult to answer. One reason is that there are simply not enough new homes being built – especially affordable housing. In 2013, using the government's own projections for housing need, the Town and Country Planning Association estimated that in England alone, at least 240,000 new homes a year are needed until 2031.

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To show just how dismal progress is, here is how many housing starts there were in 2014-15 in England: 137,900.

I recently saw an article that said there were 10 buyers for every property for sale; I can well believe this and we have certainly seen similar situations here when we have taken a property on to the market and been flooded with enquiries. It's fantastic news if you're selling, but maybe a little daunting if you want to buy another property, or a first time buyer looking to take the plunge into home ownership. Could this be another contributing factor? Is everybody waiting to find a property first, before putting their home on the market, but because of the lack of homes on the market they are then holding off?

It would seem that we are stuck in a vicious circle!

Advice

What's our advice on this? Well, if you are thinking of moving but concerned about finding somewhere then this is completely understandable, but it is crucial to get your property on to the market. We will then find you a suitable purchaser that will wait for you to find somewhere and not put pressure in the meantime. We have many buyers on our database that will give you a fair and reasonable timeframe to find another property. We'll make it clear to your purchaser that they should not commit themselves financially to the transaction until you do find what you're looking for.

 

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If you don't do this, you'll struggle to find a suitable property in these current market conditions, and there will be many buyers who will be in a better position than you and will get there first. You will also find that if you have a buyer for your property and are therefore in a position to proceed then estate agents will call you to make you aware of new homes that are coming on to the market.

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Bitterne Park itself remains highly sought after by buyers and tenants alike. The good schools, Riverside Park, the Triangle and the easy access into Southampton city centre all contribute to this. I've heard many clients say that it can have a village feel at times, and this is something we promote from the office.

What's more my Dad, who went to both Beechwood and Bitterne Park Schools, cannot believe how much they've improved since he attended, – though as I point out to him, “That was a long time ago!”. (By the way, he's particularly upset that that his old local, The Castle, is now a Tesco!)

But getting back to property, if you have any queries we're always around to help. Even if you feel that you don't need a valuation on your home, but just want to sit down with someone to guide you through your move, then please do get in touch.

Kevin Ashley
Director of Enfields Bitterne
02380 425925
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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