Apathy has hit the Colchester housing market as sellers await the outcome of the general
election and stricter mortgage regulation suppresses buyer demand. This is mirrored around the UK as Rightmove
reported the number of homes registered for sale per estate agent fell to its
lowest level for five years in December, with available stock 10% lower than in
the same month a year earlier.
Looking at Colchester, in the late Summer of 2014, each estate
agent in Colchester had on average 34.7 properties on its books (as there were
a total of 1,635 properties up for sale in Colchester at the peak in the late Summer
just gone). Our research shows that number plummeted to 27.3per agent in
December. While the lack of new properties coming
onto the market in the later months of 2014 in Colchester pushed asking prices
up slightly from November to December, traditionally a quiet season for the
housing market, property sellers will need to work hard in 2015 to complete a
sale.
The length of time a property takes to sell has increased
over the last few months. Two bedroom properties in Colchester are now taking 92
days to sell, three bedroom 72 days, four bedrooms 92 days, but here an
interesting figure, one beds are taking on average 114 days to find a buyer
2015 will be the year of the selective mover. With only 792 brand new properties a year being
built in Colchester since the turn of the Millennium, this woefully low and insufficient
number of new buildings in the town over the past few decades and a systemic
change in the type of properties homeowners want (with families splitting etc
so we have too many larger houses and not enough smaller ones), buyers are
becoming dissatisfied with, and therefore dismissive of what is up for sale.
I would confirm the heat has gone out of the Colchester
property market and I anticipate a moderate reduction from the high transaction
volumes seen in 2014. That might mean Colchester landlords could bag a bargain
during this period of uncertainty, especially if the financial markets do not
like the election outcome. Markets and buyers do not like uncertainty, but
savvy Buy to let landlords know buy to let is a long term game, and irrespective
of short term apathy, reduction in the quality and quantity of stock for
homeowners to buy or the election, if
people don’t buy property they rent. The
Council aren’t building anymore properties, the council house waiting list is
decades, not years for the better type of property .. the only other place to get
a roof over your head .. rent a property!
Good old Bricks and Mortar!
Therefore, if you are considering buying a
property for investment in the near future, I am always happy to give you my
considered opinion on which property to buy (or not as the case may be) to give
you what you want from your investment. Email me on simonewaller@moreestateagents.co.uk
