10% more properties on the market in Warrington

Think back to April 1st for a minute.. it was definitely no joke for some landlords, as they rushed their buy-to-let property purchases throughout late March to beat the extra 3% stamp duty George Osborne imposed on investment properties after the 31st March 2016. As some investors brought forward their 2016 property purchases to save the extra tax and speaking to fellow property professionals in Warrington, we have noticed that demand to buy in the last three months from these landlords has eased.

‘’ rise of 10.23% more properties for sale’’

Then we had the Brexit issue, which also had a tempering effect on the Warrington property market. In another article I wrote previously, I spoke of the growth rate of Warrington property values, and whilst the rate of growth is slowing, Warrington property values are still 3% higher year on year, albeit the growth rate month on month has started to moderate when compared to the heady days of month on month rises of 2014 and 2015. Interestingly though, a very recent members survey of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors states that only 17% of members believed property values would increase over the next Quarter compared to 44% at the end of 2015.

All this had led to an increase in the number of properties for sale in the area. For example there were 1,193 properties for sale in Warrington in December (of which 417 came on to the market for the first time). In January, February and March, 1,315 properties came onto the market in Warrington – or an average of 438 per month – meaning by end of the first Quarter, there were 1,315, properties available for homeowners and landlords alike to buy in Warrington; a rise of 10.23% more properties for sale. The reason this is important is because I expected the number to be slightly lower because of the normal Spring rush in the property market..

Nevertheless, I believe this easing of the Warrington property market is a good thing, as investment landlords won’t have to pay top dollar to secure a property because of the increase in competition. On the face of it, this easing should be bad news for the 57,112 Warrington homeowners, but nothing could be further from the truth. The majority of homeowners that move, move up market, typically from a flat to terrace/town house, then a semi and then detached, so whilst last year you would have achieved a top dollar figure for your property, you would have had to have paid an even higher price to secure the one you wanted to buy. The Swings and Roundabouts of the Warrington Property Market!

However, all the signals suggest that whatever the aftermath of the vote to leave the EU, in the long term, the disparity between demand for Warrington property and the number of actual properties will still exercise a sturdy and definitive influence on the local property market. It wouldn’t surprise me that if by 2021, even considering the vote to leave, assuming we don’t have another credit crunch or a major world conflict, property prices will be between 18% to 23% higher than they are today.

I have written a detailed article on the Brexit vote and the effect on Warrington property which you can find on the blog right here – Click to read Brexit article

As always, if you are an investor in the Warrington property market and would like a second opinion on a property you have seen then send the URL of the properties you have seen online over to me or you would like to pop in and have a chat, then you can either email me on manoj@hamletwarrington.co.uk or call on 01925 235 338. Our address is 6 Bankside, Crosfield Street (opposite Iceland and Aldi – so plenty of parking available). The kettle is always on and we will even pull out the posh biscuits! 

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