House prices in Coventry and Warwickshire are not keeping pace, according to a newly-launched homes guide.
Staff at Hawkins in Nuneaton launch property indexThe number of new buyers registered is up an encouraging 17 per cent over the last 12 months and completed sales almost on a par with that increase, according to the Hawkins Property Index.
But the initial findings of the HPI by the leading estate agents, which has offices across Coventry and Warwickshire, indicates that the market – in pricing terms at least – has still not recovered from the 2007-08 dip.
Hawkins is also cautious at suggestions in some quarters that the “good times are back”, fuelled by the Government’s decision to bring forward the Help To Buy scheme by three months.
“We feel the market is returning to normal transaction levels but we’re not seeing large price increases – despite predictions from other commentators to the contrary,” said John Little, partner at Hawkins in Coventry.
Figures from the Hawkins group’s region shows year-on-year improvements for the past two quarters with September being a particularly busy month for all three offices.
The company’s new industry barometer puts the ‘average home price’ over the last year for properties in its Nuneaton, Bedworth and Coventry heartland at £130,632.
The benchmark index – calculated from September 2012 to last month – reveals detached homes are selling for £195,301 on average; semis at £136,895; bungalows at £155,444; and terraced properties in the area are snapped up at under the £100,000 mark – at an average £96,702.
Flats and maisonettes are bottom of the property price pile at an average £64,371.
Mr Little added: “Properties are moving at a much faster rate than a year ago but prices lag behind. We’re still seeing property values below their peak of 2007.”
Average property values across the UK hit a five-year high last month after rising by more than £10,000 in a year.
The average cost of a home in Britain has climbed to £247,000, with properties spending less than eight weeks on average on the markets and sellers typically achieving almost 95 per cent of the asking price.
The market has seen two spectacular dips in the last quarter of a century – with the 1988 house recession experiencing 40 per cent falls in prices.
The second, in 2007-08, would have seen a £160,000-priced home dip to just below £130,000.
Mr Little added: “The market has rallied, sneaking up to £140,000 and in some cases peaking at £150,000. But that depends purely on location.
“The economy has begun a sustainable recovery and as a result demand is increasing, buoyed by consumer confidence and with the advantage of long-term low interest rates.”
The new Hawkins Property Index will bring quarterly statistics to the marketplace and the December-end figures “should make interesting reading.”
He said: “The good times are not quite here yet but may be just around the corner.”
Posted: Fri Oct 18, 2013 2:41 pm