61% of 2009 property sales happened in last six months
It might seem odd that we are only reporting 2009 now, but because of the Land Reg lag it is only now that we can look at the full set of data for the WHOLE of 2009.
2009 was a tale of two very different halves for the UK property market. The first half of the year was pretty poor coming off a year of transaction volumes at historic lows. The second half of the year was a different story as sales started to bounce back strongly, particularly in the south where buyers returned to the market as prices became tempting and to take advantage of the stamp duty holiday.
Key points:
• 61% of last year’s total sales transactions occurred in last 6 months
• Number of properties sold in second half of 2009 up 35% on 2008
• Houses prices up 4.7% in last half of 2009, a gain of 2.5% for year
• England property sales volumes flat in 2009 but Scotland down 33%
The figures reveal the extent of the property market turbulence last year. While property sales in Britain in 2009 were 6.8% lower than a year earlier, it was very much a year of two halves. The number of properties that changed hands in the first 6 months of last year (273,015) was down 36.9% on 2008 but the second half of 2009 showed a 34.6% surge in sales transactions (421,732) compared to the last half of 2008.
While home values in Britain managed a gain of 2.5% over 2009, average house prices fell 2.2% over the first 6 months of the year (from £205,607 to £201,067) before recovering in the second half by 4.7% to reach an average value of £210,661 by the year end. One of the biggest factors in the house price rebound in the second half of last year was the recovery in market activity with increased transaction volumes leading to higher property prices.
Transaction volumes were particularly strong in the fourth quarter of 2009, up by double-digits in all regions compared to 2008 with the exception of Scotland where sales levels have been slow to recover and were up only 8% in Q4 09 versus the previous year and were down 33% for the full year 2009, compared to a decline of only 1% in England and 12% in Wales.
Property Sales
| Country | 1H 2009 | 1 YR Change | 2H 2009 | 1YR Change | Total 2009 | Total 2008 | 1YR Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | 228,536 | -33.7% | 358,894 | 43.7% | 587,430 | 594,331 | -1.2% |
| Scotland | 35,334 | -51.1% | 48,664 | -7.7% | 83,998 | 125,025 | -32.8% |
| Wales | 9,145 | -40.9% | 14,174 | 29.8% | 23,319 | 26,392 | -11.6% |
| Total Britain | 273,015 | -36.9% | 421,732 | 34.6% | 694,747 | 745,748 | -6.8% |
Source: Zoopla.co.uk
Add comment March 9, 2010
Zoopla.co.uk Value The Most Picturesque Streets
To celebrate a year of Google Street View, Google asked the nation to vote for what they thought were the most picturesque streets in Britain.
Google’s criteria for street-selection stated that:
“The winning street should be uniquely British and visually charming. It could be vibrant, full of character, diverse, walker-friendly or architecturally interesting.”
…and Ed Parsons from Google said:
“The Google Street View Awards are aimed to celebrate the many fantastic streets that Britain has to offer, and the results reveal a diverse cultural landscape of food, fashion and beauty that puts the winning towns firmly on the map.”
More than 11,000 people voted for their favourites after the streets were short-listed by a panel of experts.
The top three streets, in order were:
1. The Shambles, York - Google Street View link
2. Royal Crescent, Bath – Google Maps View link
3. Grey Street, Newcastle – Google Street View link
We’ve added in the average home value on these streets based on current Zoopla.co.uk value estimates.
Google Street View Most Picturesque Street Shortlist 2010
| Street | Area | Average Value March 2010 |
|---|---|---|
| High Street | Chipping Campden | £683,525 |
| Broad Street | Ludlow | £582,106 |
| Royal Crescent | Bath | £512,977 |
| Grey Street | Newcastle | £346,636 |
| New College Lane | Oxford | £337,413 |
| Gold Hill | Dorset | £276,451 |
| Brunswick Square | Brighton and Hove | £274,315 |
| Pen Cei | Aberaeron | £240,923 |
| The Shambles | York | £168,048 |
| Main Street | Isle of Mull | £146,835 |
Source: Zoopla.co.uk
Add comment March 8, 2010
Cheryl and Ashley could lose £302,463 on Hurtmore House
Girls Aloud singer, Cheryl Cole, who was recently voted the nations second favourite celebrity neighbour in the annual Zoopla.co.uk Celebrity Neighbour Survey, yesterday announced she is separating from her husband, England and Chelsea football player Ashley Cole.
The Girls Aloud singer and X-Factor judge returned to the UK yesterday from a trip to Los Angeles where she had apparently been house hunting in the Hollywood Hills. Perhaps she’s looking to relocate and get away from all the attention?
As part of the separation it is likely that the couple will, at some point, begin the painful process of deciding who gets to keep Hurtmore House, their Surrey mansion.
So, we decided to play nosey neighbour and check out the current value of their Surrey mansion. It turns out that Hurtmore House was bought for £3,550,000 on 19th Oct 2007.
From this data we’re able to work out the current value of this property which we calculate at £3,247,537 meaning that if the Coles sold now, they’d stand to lose a whopping £302,463 on their purchase price.
VALUE CHANGE OVER TIME FOR HURTMORE HOUSE
| Detail | £ / Value change |
|---|---|
| Current Zoopla.co.uk estimate | £3,247,537 |
| ——————————————- | |
| Value change one year ago | £185,548 (6.1%) |
| Value change two years ago | £315,705 (-8.9%) |
| Value change three years ago | £58,552 (1.8%) |
| ——————————————- | |
| Purchase price (October 2007) | £3,550,000 |
Source: Zoopla.co.uk
1 comment February 24, 2010
Guest Blog: 8 reasons to use an estate agent
Recently there has been a lot of online and offline column inches dedicated to privately selling your property. Only last week we saw the OFT come out and suggest consumers consider “private seller platforms”.
We asked Steve Hatch, a director at North London estate agency Castles, who is passionate about this topic, to guest blog for us and give us his reasons on why selling privately online is a bad idea.
Prospective buyers who come to view your property could well be looking at your car, your identity, your family, and your future! Why would you risk all that to avoid paying a fee to an estate agent?
Property Details
Most people have a camera on their phone or own a digital camera these days but that doesn’t make us all professional photographers.
Your local estate agency may well use a professional photographer; or will have trained in the field of residential property photography and use a professional camera and equipment. We do this to ensure that your property – the externals and internals – are well represented and portrayed in a manner that will encourage people to view the property.
Car key theft
Where do we typically leave our car keys…near the front door. Thieves target private sellers deliberately. Professional thieves know that private sellers are easy to distract as they are so pre-occupied with trying, so hard, to sell their home.
Houses with drives are especially vulnerable (for some reason many people feel the photo looks better with their expensive car parked on the drive). An experienced estate agent will spot a bogus buyer a mile off.
Identity theft
Bank statements tend to be left anywhere within the safety of ones own home. An experienced agent will conduct and control the viewing. Private sellers often let people walk around a second time unaccompanied.
An experienced Estate Agent knows how to balance a viewing without letting a buyer out of their sight – the slightest unusual behaviour is instinctively sensed.
Just at the point of exchange…
A private seller is likely to miss all the subtle clues that an experienced agent will pick up on. How many private buyers slap themselves on the back for saving on estate agents fees only to get blackmailed out of thousands, of pounds just before exchange of contracts? What are your options? Reduce drastically, or lose your buyer, plus the home you thought you were about to buy.
You are the weakest link
Add to this the pressure of everyone else in the chain of transactions not being able to move because of your buyer! Very seldom does a seller realise that by going it alone without the experience of an expert behind them, actually makes them a potentially weak link and high risk buyer in the eyes of another vendor, and especially the vendors agent who will have a moral duty to flag this up at the point of an offer.
Personal safety
A private seller will not want to get off to a strained start by asking for extra contact details, work numbers, email addresses, number plates, solicitor details etc. Add to that the sense of excitement at the prospect of the viewing! An experienced agent will not only take care of their own staff safety, but they will also do this automatically for their clients. Part of the filtering process is listening to the response to these questions. An experienced agent will sense any evasiveness.
Negotiations and Re-negotiations
A private seller is rarely polished in the art of negotiating, let alone re-negotiating when it comes to property. Property negotiations are a very different beast to general sales negotiations. An experienced agent will have built up a thorough understanding of their client, their wants, needs and emotions. These are all invaluable tools that the private seller will rarely have at their disposal.
Making the move actually happen
The vast majority of people are ultimately trying to achieve one thing when selling – the ability to move! Of course they want to do well financially, but most people simply want to move to their new home in a calm, confident and reassured fashion. In my experience, most people are prepared to pay a little extra for peace of mind, and the enhanced probability of it actually happening. Realistically this is far more likely to happen in the hands of a local professional. We know what we are doing, and take a pride in what we do, this is where the no sale – no fee comes in!
Written by Steve Hatch
Director at Castles Estate Agents – Harringay Branch
8 comments February 23, 2010
Zoopla.co.uk recognised as one of the UK’s smartest businesses
We are delighted to announce that we have been chosen as a winner of Smarta.com’s inaugural ‘Smarta 100’ by a judging panel including BBC’s Dragons Den Deborah Meaden and other leading entrepreneurs such as Bebo Founder Michael Birch.
The Smarta 100 is the ultimate business accolade, recognizing the UK’s smartest entrepreneurial businesses. During the selection process Smarta.com says it:
“…uncovered remarkable companies who have gone the extra mile to differentiate themselves from the market or found clever ways to compete, from their marketing plan to their ethical stance. The result is a fascinating insight into the unique business ideas that are thriving in the current economic climate.”
We’ve had a good run of awards in the last six months being named as the UK’s Best Property Portal at the Daily Mail UK Residential Property Awards in October and more recently we were named Best Real Estate Website of the Year at the Website of the Year awards – Britain’s most important people’s choice award for websites.
Here’s what Deborah Meaden said about the Smarta 100 award:
“Discovering great new businesses is a passion of mine as is encouraging businesses to think and work better. The Smarta 100 does both of these things – and celebrates the best of British business at the same time. I was delighted to see ambitious people saving hard and raising finances to turn their ideas into flourishing businesses.”
For a full list of Smarta 100 winners, click here
Add comment February 22, 2010
