UK property market

Citation

(2002), "UK property market", Property Management, Vol. 20 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/pm.2002.11320aab.017

UK property market

UK property market

Property prices may be on the increase throughout England and Wales, but the picture is by no means uniform, as many areas have experienced little or no sales activity, while others have literally boomed, according to an analysis of property hot and cold spots by Experian, the global information solutions company.

While some parts of the country have seen up to a quarter of properties in their communities bought and sold in the last year, other areas have failed to see a single property change hands. North Stifford in Essex (RM16 6) heads the list of postal sectors with almost one in four properties (23.2 per cent of total households in the sector) changing hands in the last 12 months (see Table II). This is followed by Milton Keynes Village (18.8 per cent), Kingsnorth near Tunbridge Wells (17.5 per cent), Porthcawl Green in Tattenhoe, Milton Keynes (17.0 per cent) and Wapping West in London's East End (15.2 per cent).

At the slow end of the market, property deadspots include the Christow Street area of Leicester, which has experienced just one sale out of over 1,700 properties (0.06 per cent of households in the sector), the Chapel Street area of Birmingham (0.08 per cent), Jason Street in Liverpool (0.12 per cent), Bonsall Street in Manchester (0.16 per cent) and the Sculcoates area of Hull (0.17 per cent).

Looking at major towns and cities (see Table III), the Northampton area has experienced the highest amount of sales activity in England and Wales (5.75 per cent of all households changed hands), followed by Torquay (5.73 per cent) and Brighton (5.43 per cent). By contrast, Central London has seen smallest number of sales (just 2 per cent of its households changed hands) followed by Llandrindod Wells (2.2 per cent) and Swansea (2.5 per cent).

Bruno Rost of Experian commented:

The analysis reveals that even though prices are buoyant, the market has become extremely patchy across England and Wales, suggesting that we have moved from a seller's to a buyer's market in much of the UK. The fact that Central London has experienced the fewest sales as a proportion of households also suggests that the market may be starting to falter at the high value end, which is particularly worrying.

The analysis also suggests that, more than ever, the quality of a location is a key consideration in the choice of property with attractors such as the performance of local schools, job opportunities, accessibility to amenities and the fear of crime playing a crucial part in the purchasing decision.

For more information, visit the company's Web site at www.experian.com