A look at how the Lincolnshire property market has adapted to change in 2016

2016 Third Quarter Market Review| Published in Market Insights on 5 October 2016 by our Marketing Team

Quarter 3 Review (July – September) In this newsletter we look at how the property market has adapted to the changes during 2016; first we had the changes to stamp duty for the buy to let market, then Brexit and the uncertainty that was created around the decision to leave Europe.

How have the above events affected the Lincolnshire property market in terms of property values, sales transaction levels and buyer activity?

Looking at Pygott and Crone’s data, we can see that new instructions to the market have fallen slightly; for example, quarter three saw a 15% fall in new instructions compared to the first quarter. Whilst some of this, especially those properties in the higher value sector, could be attributed to Brexit, the figures are not out of sync with previous years. Traditionally, the first quarter is very strong as people perceive Spring as the best time to put their property up for sale and July/August slower due to it being the school holiday period.

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If we look at sales transactions these were the lowest year to date in quarter three, some 18% down on the previous quarter and we do feel that July was affected more than normal due to the uncertainty of the vote on Europe. Sales year to date are approximately 6% down on the same period in 2015 and very similar to 2014 figures.

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The clear positive during the last quarter was that exchanges and completions were pushed through quicker, resulting in our highest number of completed transactions for over 4 years; this is despite the hike in completions in March relating to the stamp duty deadlines. Hopefully we will see legal completions continue to speed up through the conveyancing process.

Another positive was the significant increase in investors registering to re-enter the investment market. Quarter three saw a 50% increase in buyer registration in this sector and when you consider mortgage rates and investment returns, property still offers an excellent investment opportunity. General applicant registration was slightly up by 3% with over 4000 registered enquiries recorded across our Lincolnshire branches.

Investor Buyer Registration back up by 50%

On a monthly basis we register on average 450 out of area buyers. This is over 30% of all buyers registered and whilst they are all at different stages of their potential move, with the support of the Relocation Agent Network, we are able to look after their whole moving process which benefits our sellers greatly. Our network member agents have the ability to secure a successful sale anywhere in the UK and provide us with buyers in a position to relocate to Lincolnshire, which in turn helps to create more local sales. Over 20% of our offers on property in the last quarter were from clients outside of our area.

In summary, the third quarter started slow due to some indecision following Brexit and the fact that it was holiday period; September has seen a slight recovery and we expect October to be very positive.

Current available housing stock remains low and whilst since the start of the year this has grown by 2%, we still have a huge requirement for more stock to meet buyer enquiries.

Conveyancing transaction times are reducing

Quarter 3 also saw the average asking price of new instructions fall slightly to £177,322, a 4% fall from the previous quarter. Nationally the average house price was reported to be circa £206,000, and year to date the average house price inflation is around 5% according to various analysts. We feel that whilst the average house price fell back in Lincolnshire this is more to do with more mid-range properties selling and fewer top end sales agreed. As a company we are still achieving 97.5% of the advertised asking price for our vendors.

Looking at the mortgage market, we have seen a slowdown in the number of new mortgage approvals during quarter 3; however, there has remained high demand for re-mortgage products due to the attractive rates currently available.

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We expect October and November to continue to see positive activity, new instructions to the market should rise slightly which in turn will see sales levels similar to last year being achieved. We believe by the close of 2016 the average house price in Lincolnshire will have increased in line with national forecast, i.e. between 3 – 6%.

Looking towards the last quarter of the year, which is when the industry recognises Estate Agency’s top performers across all areas. Pygott and Crone have again been short listed for a number of Industry awards, having been entered into the Negotiator awards, The Times and Sunday Times awards and the International Property Awards, for regional and national recognition. The company has already been recognised as the Best Estate Agent in Lincoln at the British Property Awards.

Pygott and Crone are also attempting to win The Relocation Agent of the Year title for the third consecutive year which will be a huge achievement in what is our 25th year of trading. Finally, October will see the release of our new website. We built a new website last year which won silver at the Times and Sunday Times Awards; however, this has now been completely rebuilt to incorporate many new features to improve the consumer’s experience.

For more information about any of our services or for free impartial advice contact our
Property Concierge Team on 0800 917 7404

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