Let’s discuss Morecambe and the local property market. For years, Morecambe was always referred to in poorer terms by outsiders. Only a couple of years ago, The Telegraph listed it has no.7 in their list of the “crappest” towns to live. Earlier this year, the Which travel survey named it as the 3rd worse seaside town in the UK. Who remembers the bad press it received in 2003, when author Sam Jordison naming it as the 3rd worst place in the UK? It’s looking though like Morecambe and our Eric Morecambe statue will soon be having the last laugh.
It feels like the tide is finally turning in Morecambe. For the 4th month in a row, property sales are up. Only marginally this month, but when other parts of the country (including neighbouring Lancaster) are reporting a downtown, this is great news.
Investors are still flocking to Morecambe, but more interestingly are the people who in the past would have only considered Lancaster. The benefits of the by-pass are starting to make a difference with one recent buyer in Heysham saying the bypass means they can now get to motorway in just 14 minutes, compared to over 40 minutes in the past.
The Eden Project is projecting 750,000 visitors to Morecambe each year. It’s no wonder, many investors have started asking about properties which could also work as an air bnb.
Here are your figures for August
What actually sold and where?
This month 34 properties sold in LA3, whilst across in LA4 there were a whopping 52 sales. The most expensive property to sell was over on Seymour Grove in Heysham. It was listed for sale in February this year with a price tag of £530,000. It is only the property to sell across Lancaster and Morecambe above £380,000 this month.
3 bed homes are still the best selling properties across the region. There is also a shortage of well presented bungalows. At JDG we now have a big shortage of properties matching this description, in particular under £180,000. Can you help?
Augusts breakdown is as follows
Upto £100,000 18
£100,001 – £150,000 37
£150,001 – £200,000 21
£200,001 – £250,000 6
£250,000 + 4
Sales by property type
Detached 9
Semi-Detached 25
Terrace 21
Flats 10
Bungalows 18
Park Homes 1
The average price paid in LA3 now stands at £160,961 whilst in LA4 it is lower at £141,787. These figures have been taken from the sales registered at Land Registry over the past 3 months.
Despite the positive news, there are still a number of homes struggling to sell. In August there was a choice of 810 homes available for sale. This is actually down from last year. Worryingly though, 503 of these have now been for sale for 12 weeks or longer. 250 of them have been for sale over 6 months.
If you want to get moved, please get in touch. We have a 14 step moving plan, a set process that has proved over and over again to work. Ask yourself this. Would your home pass our Rightmove test? Why not try it out? The link is below.
If you are thinking of moving, or would like a 2nd opinion about the marketing of your home, please get in touch. Call us on 01524 843322 or drop me an email at michelle@jdg.co.uk
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