Property values in Headingley remained
static in March, with neither a rise nor fall, as Headingley people held their
breath as to whether the Tory’s would return or we would have a Labour/SNP coalition.
This followed several months of sluggish activity in the Headingley
property market in the run up to the Election, leaving the average price of a
property in Headingley at £227,900, still 4.1% higher than in March 2014. Despite
the lack of change, the figures showed property values in Headingley were still
higher in the first quarter of 2015 than in the last quarter of 2014.
Interestingly, the Council of
Mortgage Lenders and Estate Agent trade bodies over the last few months have reported
seeing a fall in mortgage lending and enquiries from prospective homebuyers. This
is important because it comes amid an overall fall in housing market activity
in Headingley. Data from the Land Registry said completed house sales in the Headingley
and Leeds area in the three months to January 2015, (the most up-to-date
figures available) fell by 14.8% compared to the same three month period up to
January 2014.
However, I believe that the
slowdown in property sales in Headingley is supporting Headingley property values,
as there is a shortage of houses coming onto the market. Even though in the
whole of the first Quarter of 2015, Headingley property value increases may
seem subdued when compared to 2014, let us remember, property values are still
rising well above the level of inflation.
As I have said many times before,
the population in Headingley is growing at a much higher rate than the number of
properties being built. This increasing demand for a roof over people’s head,
which is outpacing the supply of new houses being built in Headingley, is creating
a severe imbalance in the Headingley (in fact the whole of UK’s) housing
market, thus making homeownership an ever increasingly distant dream for many of
Headingley’s potential first time buyers.
In fact, I still maintain the
view that house prices are likely to rise by around 3 to 5% in Headingley in
2015, even after taking into account this blip at start of the year. The reason
being is that the rise reflects both strong economic conditions and steady
market conditions with (and this is the most important factor) very low numbers
of properties on the market.
Many Buy to Let landlords know
that investing in the Headingley property market is a long-term strategy of 10,
20 even 30 years. Governments come and go, but unless Leeds City Council start
to build thousands of new properties a year to make up for the shocking lack of
supply, Headingley people will always want a roof over their head, and
irrespective of which party is in power, if there aren’t any council houses and
they can’t (or are unable to buy), a demand for rental properties will always
remain.
