Average home costs 10 times your pay
Quarterly sales drop by 20%
The average Kent property now costs just shy of £300,000, more than 10 times the county’s average wage.
The 12.38% increase from £265,092 in the first quarter of last year takes the average price to £297,781, and the upward trend is likely to continue – even with Brexit expectations.
Fifteen of the last 16 quarters have shown an increase in prices but the averages mask a complex picture, says Edward Church, head of agency at Strutt & Parker in Kent.
“Some properties have really skyrocketed, particularly some of the coastal properties.
“People are being priced out of other areas, so they are looking for value, but they are also looking for proximity to London, space, and a nice environment.
“Higher value properties have struggled, and haven’t increased by such a large proportion as those on the mass market.”
The main beneficiary of demand for coastal property has been the traditionally low-cost Thanet district, which has seen some of the steepest price rises in the country, but even with the increases it still has the cheapest properties in Kent at an average of £218,030.
Sevenoaks boasts the county’s highest average wage at £46,930, but also has Kent’s priciest homes – the average property costs £501,368.
And like Thanet, this is more than 10 times more than the average person earns in a year.
Maidstone properties cost an average £291,018 (9.9 times average salaries); Tonbridge and Malling £384,282 (11.8x) and Tunbridge Wells £429,780 (11.6x).
Anyone looking for a better ratio between wages and house prices should try the Medway towns, where the average cost of a home is £221,085 – seven times the average wage of £27,648. According to Kent County Council’s latest figures, property transactions in the first quarter of 2016 are down almost 20% compared to the same period last year, the lowest quarterly sales figures since 2013.
Mr Church expects the trend to continue, at least in the short term, in part due to Brexit.
“It doesn’t necessarily indicate such a steep fall over a longer period of time, so it’ll be interesting to see if it is mirrored in the second quarter.”
Kent has always been a county of two halves when it comes to house prices, but the difference between the east and west may narrow.
And although both house prices and wages are higher in Kent than the national average, the county still plays second fiddle to the rest of the South East.
This too though will change, believes Mr Church.
“Prices will continue to grow. Kent has traditionally been the least fashionable of the home counties, but those old habits will die; slowly, but they will change.
“Kent is becoming increasingly fashionable in my view.”