House prices in the Dales rising £72 a day, but market cannot ‘defy gravity forever’
Shortage of available houses driving up prices, but increase expected to slow
HOUSE prices in the Derbyshire Dales are increasing in value at an average of £72 per day, according to new data.
Prices in the district have risen by £26,290 over the last year up to March, from an average price of £297,348 to £323,638.
The increase is the second highest in Derbyshire, with only South Derbyshire seeing a higher rise of £28,357 – or £78 per day.
And experts say a shortage of houses on the market is driving prices up.
Nathan Emerson, chief executive officer at Propertymark, which represents estate agents, said: “The year-on-year increase shows there is still plenty of momentum within the housing market, however, we are now seeing some signs of things starting to cool.
“But we keep coming back to the issue of low supply being the main driver of rising prices.
“Our member agents are telling us that it’s still an issue and that the number of people looking to buy remains far higher than the number of properties they have listed.
“This, coupled with incredibly low borrowing rates, is likely to maintain prices in the short to medium term.”
The 8.8 per cent increase in house prices in the Derbyshire Dales does not reflect the county-wide picture, however. While Amber Valley and North East Derbyshire have seen a strong increase, some areas have seen much slower growth. In Bolsover, the rise in prices has been the slowest in Derbyshire, with the average property – priced at £157,094 – increasing by just £5,130, or £14 per day.
Mike Scott, chief analyst at national estate agency Yopa, says the expectation was that month-on-month growth would resume in next month’s report, with the annual rate of growth staying around 10 percent.
He said: “House prices cannot continue to defy gravity forever, but the current shortage of homes for sale and high demand from people who are still reevaluating their lives and priorities for the post-pandemic world are likely to continue to support prices for at least the rest of 2022, and we do not anticipate any significant falls in nominal house prices this year.
“However, with inflation continuing to rise, and early signs that the housing market is beginning to cool off, it would not be surprising if we end the year with house prices rising more slowly than other prices, and so falling in real terms.” Nationally, the average price of a house in the UK increased by 9.8 per cent over the year to March 2022.
The average UK house price was £278,000 in March 2022, which is £24,000 higher than this time last year.
Between the beginning of 2016 and the end of 2019, there was a general slowdown in UK house price growth, driven mainly by a slowdown in the south and east of England. The start of 2020 saw a pick-up in annual growth in the housing market before coronavirus restrictions were put in place at the end of March 2020.
The East Midlands was the region with the highest annual house price growth, with average prices increasing by 12.4 per cent in the year to March. This was up from a growth rate of 11.6 per cent in February.
The lowest annual house price growth was in London, where average prices increased by 4.8 per cent over the year to March 2022, down from 7.8 per cent in February 2022.
We do not anticipate any significant falls in nominal house prices this year.
Yopa Chief Analyst Mike Scott