IT’S CERTAINLY NOT GLOOMY IN THE GLOUCESTERSHIRE PROPERTY MARKET

IT WOULD be easy to assume that the UK’S property market isn’t currently in the best of places. Continued uncertainty as to what our future in, or out, of Europe holds is leaving many homeowners reluctant to make a move at this time. However, the reality isn’t as bleak as you may believe – and certainly not as bad as the media often leads us to think it might be! The simple truth is that the property market IS actually continuing to progress at a steady rate, albeit at a slightly slower pace than it has done previously. And the key thing to remember here is that the housing market is always considered to work in a cyclical manner: that is, occasional dips are followed by rises. The net result in such a situation is that house prices do tend rise in the long run. Nationwide, which publishes a quarterly ‘House

Price Index’ (HPI), recently reported that a monthly change in house values of 0.0% in February, was followed in March by a rise of 0.2%. It’s small, but it’s not insignificant. Moreover, the annual change jumped from 0.4% to 0.7% and whilst that too may not seem huge, it does point to continued house price increases which is surely a positive thing for the market overall. Positively, however, here in Gloucestershire, the picture is even more positive; and quite markedly so. In the three years from December 2015, the average price of flats in the county has risen by 7.8%, whilst for houses of all sizes, prices have increased by 19.9%! This might suggest that here we have as much of a seller’s market as we do a buyer’s market which is often what is reported. The reality remains, however, that across Gloucestershire there is currently a low volume of sales and consequently, those looking to buy here may be able to get more for their money – depending, of course, on exactly where it is they’re looking to purchase. Indeed, transaction levels for the final quarter of 2018, were down by 15.9% compared to three years previously. This isn’t as horrific as it sounds though: don’t forget that values are continuing to increase. Current conditions remain, as we’ve reported before, positive for first time buyers in the area, whilst for those looking to move up the ladder, they may currently be able to upsize more quickly than conditions have previously allowed for given the relative lack of supply and conservative price increases. If you’re looking to make the move either to or within Gloucestershire, then get in touch with one of the nine Andrews branches across the county or visit us online at www.andrewsonline.co.uk