Welcome to March’s housing market report. It’s been a very strange month. Earlier in March, I was actually thinking this could be my first doom and gloom report. In the first week of March, the Lancaster Housing Market was almost as a flat as a pancake. By the 5th March (pancake day), only 5 homes, in total, had sold across the city. Thankfully, it’s not ended that way!
Spring is considered by many as the kick-off period in the housing market. It’s perceived that the weather is getting better. Christmas has become a distant memory. Many people think that a spring sale will mean an actual Summer move.The reality though is slightly different. First of all, Easter is late this year, and that for many home sellers is used as a benchmark. It’s the first bank holiday of the year and a chance for them to get their home ready for marketing. March has also had some rather dreadful weather (who else lost fence panels?) and of course, dare I mention, the farce of Brexit. We are still no further along. Uncertainty is a real concern for many people we meet. Sales in Lancaster were 9% down year on year, and 6% down on the previous month. Is it really due to Brexit? Or the fact that Easter is later this year? Time will certainly tell.
What happened in March in Lancaster?
In March 2019, 78 homes went under offer. This was 7 less than March 2018 when 85 home sold in LA1. It is also 5 sales less than the previous month. Given the current climate, this result is still very encouraging for Lancaster, especially when you consider Easter is late this year.
March’s sold breakdown is as follow
Upto £125,000 33 properties
£125,001 – £250,000 39 properties
£250,001 – £500,000 7 properties
£500,000 0 property
The higher end market
The higher end market was more subdued in March. There were just 3 sales above £350,000. The most expensive home to sell was a beautiful 5 bed detached home at Highwood, marketed at £450,000. It took the selling agent just over 6 months to find a buyer.
The lower end market
The lower end market which is predominately the first time buyers and investors accounted for 41% of all the property sales in Lancaster. 60% of these sales were terrace homes. It’s is encouraging to see that these homes are back selling well given all the tax changes for buy to let landlords and the rise of affordable home schemes including help to buy.
What type of property sold?
Once again, March was the month of the terrace home. 57% of all the property sales in LA1 were terrace homes. Only 3 of the 78 sales were detached properties. LA1 3 was the most popular selling region. It is normally very close between LA1 3 and LA1 4. This month though, LA1 3 was the clear winner! ( It is also winning the year so far! )
Detached 3
Semi detached 18
Terrace 45
Flats / Apartments 9
Bungalows 3
Sales by area
LA1 1 – 11 properties
LA1 2 – 17 properties
LA1 3 – 22 properties
LA1 4 – 16 properties
LA1 5 – 12 properties
16 different estate agents agreed the 78 sales in LA1 in March. At JDG we agreed 22% of these sales.
We had some great successes in March. Gerrard Street and Elgin Street both got snapped up in 24 hours and with full asking price offers. Sibsey Street had multiple offers and sold over the asking price. Both our bungalows on the Racecourse sold fast and Johnson Close received a superb offer in just days.
I’m often asked how we sell so many houses when we don’t have the most to sell. I put it down to an experienced team but one who is also enthusiastic. Selling homes isn’t about property. It’s about people. It is also about great marketing, expert viewings, skilled negotiation and dedicated, in-house sales progression.
Can we help you move? Please call us on 01524 843322 to arrange your free home move consultation.
Ps. Why not try out our handy online valuation tool? It is not as accurate as having us around but in under 60 seconds, you could have a good indication as to what your home may be worth. Why not give it a try?https://valuation.jdg.co.uk/home/800-jd-gallagher