20 Feb Leeds Housing Market 2018
Leeds Housing Market 2018
Spring is upon on us and we here at Home House Buyers are getting shaped up for a new year in the property world. But what does 2018 hold for those looking to sell their houses fast in Leeds 2018? We also have a look at new regulations that are due to come into play in 2018 that may affect you if you are looking to sell or buy in 2018.
According to Andrew Beadnall, founder of Beadnall Copley estate agency figures have been slightly down toward the end of 2017. “In the closing weeks of 2017, there was a sizeable fall in the number of new instructions compared with previous years. It is this continued scarcity of stock, coupled with buyer demand, which has held up house prices this past year.” read more here. This is great news for those looking to sell their houses as with a low supply we can almost guarantee a high level of demand. With high demand in the housing market, you will have to keep a keen eye out for artificial price inflations. Estate agents can tend to do open days and the sealed bids when the stock is short.
LS17 bubble
Take this house in leafy northern suburbs of Leeds, Alwoodley see here, sold for the grand total of £290’000. Ok, so for a three-bed semi in the heart of LS17 that doesn’t seem too bad right? Not the case. With a low demand for the stock, this price seems to have been inflated to match demand. Take a look at what a neighbouring house sold for just a few months before for a total of £305’000, see here. Now, £15000 might not seem that much of a difference in price, maybe just some crafty negotiating but this isn’t the case. The latter house has had a full-scale refurbishment carried out and well as a converted attic and a rear extension. The first house needed a new kitchen, bathroom, wiring, heating, new carpets and full redecoration throughout. We would cost this (for a high-end finish at roughly about £30’000, so £15’000 and that isn’t taking into consideration the effort to manage the project. So why are people bidding so high? Here are our thoughts: –
There are 5 three-bed Semi-Detached properties on the market in that area and of those 4 are sold = 1 available property. So each time a house comes onto the market the viewing numbers are high and more often than not there is so much interest that offers go well over asking. So for those looking for a Sell house fast Leeds now seems to be a good time to sell.
Catch 22
In the coming months of this year, we believe that there will be many homeowners wishing to sell but refusing to offer their homes for sale unless they first see something to entice them. It is a classic Catch 22 situation. However, when the more individual and sought-after properties do come to market, we get many viewings and, in some cases, a sale is achieved above the asking price as we have previously mentioned. This way of trying to sell is unhealthy for the sell house fast Leeds market.
Ban on letting fees
We here think that think that 2018 will see many changes in the lettings market due to the impending ban on application fees for tenants. These bans are expected by the latter end of this year. Scotland, we have already seen the effects of the ban with rents increasing by 4.2 percent and supply becoming ever more scarce with demand rising and supply falling. We fear that this year rental prices will go through the roof, but will be good for tenants speaking about fees. We asked Simon Bland of SBLiving and he says “More than likely the fees will be split between the agent and the landlord”.
1st-time buyer increase
We have done some research and are pleased to see a six percent increase in the number of first-time buyers in 2017. This figure is over 30% percent higher than in 2013, which goes some way to proving that the government’s intervention with Help-to-Buy schemes is working.
As we move ahead into 2018, housing supply remains tight and mortgage rates remain low with the added incentive of Help to Buy and the newly-introduced stamp duty changes for first-time buyers. With even more first time buyers coming into the market, could this suffocate the supply even more? Time will tell.
Hot Spots
It is our view that a small growth in prices over the coming year is to be expected with the most activity in first-time buyer and some second-time buyer properties. We here at Home House Buyers see the Hot Spots to be Pudsey and Crossgates, which have always been popular with this demographic. The east side of Leeds is up and coming. There is a lot of investment going into this location. With its affordable prices and great local amenities, there is no wonder the places like cross gates are up and coming. With large three-bed semi’s going on the market for 140k it is clear to see this is becoming a Leeds favourite. We have rate Crossgates our number 1 up and coming area in our sell house fast Leeds table.
If you have a house that you need to sell fast then you can contact a member of our quick house sale Leeds team on 0800 612 1366.