Asking Prices of Warrington Property up 14% since December

I had an interesting question the other day from a homeowner in Warrington who asked me the difference between asking prices and values and why it mattered. When it comes to selling property, there must be agreement between the purchaser (buyer) and seller (vendor) for a property sale to take place. The value a buyer applies to a property can massively differ from the value a seller or Mortgage Company places upon it. The seller, the buyer and the mortgage company must find an agreeable value to assign to a property so the sale can proceed.

In many of my articles about the Warrington property market, I talk about values, i.e. what property in Warrington actually sells for, but I haven’t spoken about asking prices for while. Now asking prices are important as they are one of the four key matters a potential buyer will judge your property on (the others being location, bedrooms and type). Price yourself too high and you will put off buyers. So let’s take a look at the Warrington numbers.

‘’ Now asking prices are important as they are one of the four key matters a potential buyer will judge your property on’’

Over the last 12 months asking prices (i.e. the price advertised in the paper and on Rightmove) in Warrington have increased by 14%, taking the average asking price in Warrington to £105,300 (up from £94,000 twelve months ago).

Interestingly though, when we look at, say semi-detached and terraced property, a slightly different picture appears. Twelve months ago, the average asking price for a semi-detached house in Warrington was £142,200 and today its £165,400 (a rise of 16%); whilst over the same 12-month period, the average asking price of a terraced property was £113,700 a year ago, and today its £125,400 (a rise of 10%).

‘’ semi-detached house in Warrington was £142,200 and today its £165,400 (a rise of 16%)’’

However, my research shows that the supply of property for sale in Warrington is beginning to increase. In December 2015, there were 1,193 on the market in Warrington today there are 1,412 properties on the market (up 18%). This will mean homeowners looking to sell will need to be conscious of how their property compares against others on the Warrington property market. The Warrington property market still has substantial momentum and sufficient demand remains to provoke more modest asking price rises. This noteworthy increase in supply since Christmas is currently providing more choice for buyers and is tempering asking price rises - and here is the devil in the detail - only 8% of the overall 14% annual figure (mentioned in para 3) has appeared since December.

‘’This will mean homeowners looking to sell will need to be conscious of how their property compares against others on the Warrington property market.’’

… And here is the second point to make. Asking prices are one thing, but what a property sells for (i.e. value) is a completely different matter. These are the average prices achieved (i.e. what they sold for or the average value) for property in Warrington over the last 12 months...

•      Overall Average   £169,100         
•      Detached            £290,000
•      Semi-detached    £169,950      
•      Terraced             £112,950   
•       Flats                  £103,500

The underlying fundamentals of low interest mortgages and tight supply remain prevalent in the Warrington property market however, the number one lesson has to be this ... if you want to sell, be realistic with your pricing.

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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