Archive for April, 2010
How the other UK Downing Streets compare
We recently put a value on the Official Downing Street digs of £4.5m and worked out that, since Gordon Brown took up residence, the value has dropped by £462,420 during his occupancy. We also worked out that under the tenures of Brown and Major the value reduced versus growth under Blair and Thatcher.
We then became a little curious, as we’re prone to, and searched Zoopla.co.uk for any other Downing Streets in the UK. Our search produced 13 other Downing Streets. So here’s how 10 of them stack up, in terms of average values, against the official digs on Downing Street (SW1A).
The nearest, in terms of value, is Downing Street in Farnham (£255,611), however average values are still some £4,244,389 off that of Downing Street, London, SW1A.
Average property values in Downing Streets across Britain
| Location | Average Value (Apr ’10) |
|---|---|
| Official Digs – Downing Street, London, SW1A | £4,500,000 |
| — | |
| Downing Street, Farnham, GU9 | £255,611 |
| Downing Street, Chippenham, SN14 | £144,845 |
| Downing Street, Halesowen, B63 | £113,052 |
| Downing Street, Ashton-Under-Lyne, OL7 | £94,159 |
| Downing Street, Llanelli, SA15 | £86,612 |
| Downing Street, Alfreton, DE55 | £87,104 |
| Downing Street, Newport, NP19 | £78,565 |
| Downing Street, Nottingham, NG6 | £77,384 |
| Downing Street, Preston, PR1 | £62,409 |
| Downing Street, Sutton-In-Ashfield, NG17 | £50,853 |
Source: Zoopla.co.uk
Downing Street residences drop £462,420 to £4.5m under Brown
10 Downing Street is one of the most exclusive addresses in the country, with a valuation to match. It is more than likely that Number 10 is one of the few properties that will never come on to the property market and it takes millions of votes to secure the keys. Messrs Cameron and Clegg clearly have a struggle on their hands to wrestle those keys from Mr Brown who has been a Downing Street resident for twelve years now and will be very reluctant to call in the removal men.
So, with just over two weeks to go, the race is on amongst the party leaders to get their hands on a piece of prime real estate in the heart of London (SW1A) which we value at £4.5m. It’s worth noting that this figure is only for the official residential digs in Downing Street – which consists of 3,800 sq ft. Yes, surprisingly small.
Here are some other interesting facts relating to the official residences on Downing Street:
- Winner will enjoy rent-free living which would otherwise run to £4,250 per week
- Value of PM’s residence has dropped by £462,420 during Brown’s occupancy
- Under Blair, Downing Street residence grew in value by avg. of over £335k p.a.
- Brown and Major tenures reduced value versus growth under Blair and Thatcher
- Stamp Duty bill (if on open market) would be a whopping £225k (5% from April 2011)
In light of the current deficit the next Chancellor may be well advised to think about selling up and moving his boss’ official residence to one of the other Downing Streets across Britain. The most cost-effective move for taxpayers would be to Downing Street in Sutton-In-Ashfield where the average property costs £50,853. Alternatively, if commuting to Westminster is essential for the PM, a move to Downing Street in Farnham, Surrey, where the average property price is £253,528 would help pay down more than £4m of the budget deficit.
If there is a change in leadership over the next few weeks, Gordon Brown is likely to drop quite a few rungs on the property ladder as house prices in his own constituency of Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath are amongst the lowest in the land at an average of £120,910 versus his current address in SW1 where average house prices are £920,361.
Cameron and Clegg will both be keen to upgrade to SW1 from their own constituencies where current values are £289,686 and £219,136 respectively.
Changes in value of official residential digs at 10 Downing Street, SW1A
| Leader | Arrival Value | Departure Value | Value change | Years in office | Av. change p.a |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brown Years | £5,037,251 | £4,574,831 | -£462,420 | 2.9 | -£165,150 |
| Blair Years | £1,644,558 | £5,037,251 | £3,392,693 | 10.10 | £335,910 |
| Major Years | £1,804,952 | £1,644,558 | -£160,394 | 6.5 | -£24,676 |
| Thatcher years | £692,602 | £1,804,952 | £1,112,350 | 11.6 | £96,726 |
*Source: Zoopla.co.uk
Take a look at our recent post on how the leaders, constituencies and parties perform from a property perspective.
Please feel free to share and use these figures; all we ask is that you credit the source as the Zoopla.co.uk and if possible link to Zoopla.co.uk.
ELECTION 2010: Political Party Property Values
 |
 |
 |
| David Cameron | Gordon Brown | Nick Clegg |
Unlike the election outcome, which is unclear for now, our research into political property values reveals that the Tories rule in the property stakes with average property values in their constituencies significantly above those in Labour controlled areas. Interestingly, despite the fact that there are far fewer homes in areas under their control today, the Tories still have an equal share of the UK’s property wealth, due largely to their strong presence in affluent rural areas and the south east of England in particular.
Some may say this is not totally unexpected, but when you look at the detail there are actually 4.5million more homes under Labour control (11.7m total) compared to 7.2m properties in Conservative constituencies with the Lib Dems some way behind with 2.2m homes.
The Key Points:
- Average house prices in Conservative areas 53% higher than Labour
- Property values in Tory constituencies £89,500 higher than Labour on average
- Average house prices in Tory constituencies £257,500 vs. £168,000 for Labour
- Lib Dem seats show highest growth in property values over the past 5 years
- Gordon Brown’s own constituency amongst the lowest property values in UK
Average house prices in Tory-controlled areas now stand at £257,518, followed by Lib Dem constituencies where the average home is worth £228,880, whilst Labour comes in a distant third at £168,112, with property values in areas under their control at almost 20% below the national average.
Average property values in each party’s constituencies
| Party | Average Value (April 2010) |
% Change since last election (May ’05) |
Average Value when Labour came to power (May ’97) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conservatives | £257,518 | 7.82% | £92,392 |
| Liberal Democrats | £228,880 | 10.24% | £78,813 |
| Labour | £168,112 | 7.99% | £60,567 |
Source: Zoopla.co.uk
The research also highlights that Labour-controlled constituencies have experienced the lowest gains in property values since they came to power in 1997, with house price growth in areas under their control up 177% over the 13 year period compared to 179% in Tory areas and an impressive 190% in areas under Lib Dem control.
As for the party leaders own constituencies, the average property value in Gordon Brown’s Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath seat is £120,910, well below both the average for his party and the national average. Average property prices in Witney, the Oxfordshire seat of David Cameron, stand at almost 2.5 times that figure at £289,686, well above the national average (£209,101) whilst in Nick Clegg’s Sheffield Hallam constituency, the average home would set you back £219,136.
Average property values in each leader’s constituency
| Leader | Average Value (April 2010) |
% Change since last election (May ’05) |
Average Value when Labour came to power (May ’97) |
|---|---|---|---|
| David Cameron | £289,686 | 12.30% | £98,756 |
| Nick Clegg | £219,136 | 5.14% | £79,857 |
| Gordon Brown | £120,910 | 18.57% | £38,691 |
Source: Zoopla.co.uk
In terms of the total current value of residential property located in areas controlled by each party, the Tories and Labour come out almost exactly neck and neck at £1.9 trillion each, despite Labour’s significant advantage of 11.7m homes in areas under their control compared to only 7.2m homes in Conservative areas. The total value of the 2.2m homes in areas under the control of the Liberal Democrats stands at £0.5 trillion.
Please feel free to share and use this research; all we ask is that you credit the source as the Zoopla.co.uk and if possible link to Zoopla.co.uk. Thank you. Here’s the original press release.
Housing market confidence hits two and a half year high
Our latest Zoopla.co.uk Housing Market Sentiment Survey reveals that four out of five (81%) UK homeowners think that property prices will continue to climb over the next six months.
Optimism around the housing market outlook has significantly improved from one year ago, when less than one-third of homeowners (30%) expected house prices to rise.
With the bad weather behind us and the recent stamp duty relief introduced for first-time buyers, confidence in the property market has bounced back well. Despite the optimism, significant concerns remain around the supply of mortgages and whilst affordability levels are now higher than at any time in the past few years the lack of mortgage funding, especially for first-time buyers, remains the single biggest threat to a full housing market recovery.
Key points:
- Housing market confidence hits two and a half-year high
- Strong concerns remain over the availability of mortgage financing
- 81% of homeowners believe UK property values will rise over next six months
- Homeowners predict that average house prices will increase 5.7% by Autumn
- Only one in five potential buyers say that mortgage availability is improving
- Scots are most confident about property market recovery, N Irish far less so
The survey also reveals only 9% of homeowners believe that property values will fall over the next six months whilst a further 10% expect prices to remain flat. The average growth predicted by those surveyed is for house prices to rise by 5.7% by October.
The current level of optimism bodes well for market activity, with transaction volumes expected to rise significantly over the coming months given the historically high correlation between the confidence level in the Zoopla.co.uk Survey and market activity approximately three months later.
However, the availability of mortgage financing remains the main obstacle to a sustained improvement in the housing market with four out of five (78%) of those surveyed saying that it is now no easier to obtain a mortgage than it was three months ago.
When considering the election almost a quarter (23%) of those surveyed stated that they will wait to assess the outcome of the election before making any property-related decisions.
Across the UK, the Scots are most upbeat over the prospects for the local property market, with 86% expecting house prices in their area to rise over the next six months, compared to 80% in England and 76% in Wales. The picture is somewhat less optimistic in Northern Ireland, with only 62% predicting house prices will rise over the next six months.
Please feel free to share and use these findings, all we ask is that you credit the source as the Zoopla.co.uk Housing Market Sentiment Survey and link to Zoopla.co.uk.
Forget the Boat Race, what about the Oxford & Cambridge property race?
There’s been clear water between Oxford and Cambridge in the Boat Race in recent years, but we’ve begun to see a reversal of fortunes in the property market. Cambridge property values have outperformed the city’s longstanding rival, thanks principally to Silicon Fen. The rapid growth of high-tech businesses in the area – many of which have links with the University – has transformed Cambridge into one of Europe’s most important technology centres. Increased investment and the boost to the local jobs market has led to a surge in demand for property in Cambridge.
Over the past decade the University of Oxford has left its Cambridge rival trailing in the University Boat Race with Oxford crossing the line seven times ahead of the Cambridge crew. However, if we take a look at the property race between the two Cities, it’s an entirely different story – Cambridge is streets ahead in the property race.
Average property values in Cambridge have grown 106% since March 2000, quite a few strokes (sorry!) ahead of Oxford, where values have risen 95% in the same period. In the past year, Cambridge property values have also bounced back strongest from the housing market slump, growing 9.7% compared to only a 4.1% rise in Oxford.
Despite the strong recent performance of the Cambridge housing market, average property values are still higher in Oxford. The average Oxford home is currently worth £318,149 compared to £282,948 in Cambridge.
Oxford v Cambridge – the property perspective
| Oxford | Cambridge | |
|---|---|---|
| 71,816 | Number of homes | 102,241 |
| £22.9 billion | Current total value all residences | £29.2 billion |
| - | ||
| £318,149 | Avg. home value (Mar 2010) | £282,948 |
| £314,660 | Avg. price paid (12 months) | £271,977 |
| 12,144 | Number of property sales (5 yrs) | 19,492 |
| 4.12% | Value change % (12 months) | 9.71% |
| £12,598 | Value change £ (12 months) | £25,045 |
| £162,826 | Avg. home value (Mar 2000) | £137,276 |
| 95.39% | Value change % (10 yrs) | 106.12% |
| £155,323 | Value change £ (10 yrs) | £145,672 |
Source: Zoopla.co.uk
