Buoyant Price and Sales Figures for UK Property Market

Recent figures from Hamptons International, a leading UK based property company show the UK market to be back on terra firma. Let us first examine the volume of sales and completions. At the end of 2009 and beginning of 2010, the market has and continues to be dominated by buyers and sellers who are keen to make a purchase. This is in contrast to the majority of investment buyers in the market during 2006/7. This change in buyer’s motivations has meant that the level of completions is up by nearly 50% year on year. 

This increase in sales has meant that prospective sellers have access to substantially more data; hence they can pick their selling price based on more accurate evidence. Furthermore, once buyers have found a property, they feel more comfortable to make and commit to an offer. This is clearly shown through in the astounding change in the fall-through numbers; a decrease by a fifth from 2008. In essence, buyers were most certainly out in the market in force as total sales agreed increased 39% in 2009.

The average price of a sales property increased 12% in 2009. This is a substantial increase in comparison to the 2008 when pricing was down 20%. This positive incline is being accelerated by the lack of quality stock. Desirable commuter locations in the South-East such as Tunbridge Wells and Liphook have not seen any significant changes. In fact it is Maidenhead that leads the way with the most affordable properties (under £275K). This is followed by Oxford and Brighton. Overall, instruction levels finished the year 17% lower that the end of 2008.

One key measure of the renewed force in the market is the 48% rise of applicants for new instructions. In 2008, the ratio was less than 6-to-1 and in 2009 it was more than 8-to-1 registering for each new property for rent.

Another variable contributing to the overall buoyant figures is the change of rental levels across the UK. In 2008 and early 2009, at the trigger of the recession there were drastic reductions in rental levels. However for the last three quarters, (with Q4 of 2009 showing the strongest gain) lettings properties have slowly gained back their value. The average rental values ended 2009 only 0.9% down from the start of the year.

After looking at all of these variables it is hardly surprising that Hamptons International, one of the UK’s premier property companies announced a 3.5% gain in sale prices for the final quarter of 2009. In addition, they also revealed that rental prices rose by 1%; this is the second strongest quarterly rise since late 2007.

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