Why is that people believe the Summer is always a better time to sell a property in a coastal town? Is it because the sun is shining, the sea is glistening and the sand looks golden? Do they believe nobody wants to buy on a wet day when the sea is grey and rough? There is no doubt about it. Viewing activity is greater from June – September, but how many of these people have the real attention of buying? How many have just fallen in love with the idea of moving to the seaside? Each month we look at the fact and figures to let you know what is really happening out there.
November really does bust the myth. 100 properties may have sold back in July but 89 properties sold ( SSTC ) in November is the exact same number as the month previous and a 20% increase on November 2017. Nationally, the housing market is reporting a downtown in both activity and prices. Morecambe defies this. Even house prices have seen a small increase in the past 12 months. The average price paid now stands at a respectable £144,178.
Let’s look at the stats
In November there were 830 homes listed for sale ( slightly down from the month previous ). The number of new instructions dropped to just 115 properties. 89 properties went under offer – just over 10% of all the homes available for sale. Only 63 homes reduced their asking price – worryingly 34.9% of all reductions were again by one estate agent. Overall, November is on par with the two previous months. It really is showing the signs of a very stable market.
What actually sold?
Morecambe sales in November were split equally between the two main postcode areas. In LA3 there were 45 sales. In LA4 there were 44 sales. There was just 1 sale above £300,000 which was a detached home on Seymour Grove, Heysham (LA£3) at £400,000. Interestingly the most expensive sale last month was also on this same street. The most expensive homes to sell in LA4 were both on Broadway.
November’s breakdown is as follows
Upto £100,000 33 properties
£100,001 – £150,000 30 properties
£150,001 – £200,000 15 properties
£200,001 – £250,000 6 properties
£250,000 + 5 properties ( the highest price was £400,000 )
Sales by area
LA3 1 20 properties
LA3 2 13 properties
LA3 3 12 properties
LA4 4 7 properties
LA4 5 13 properties
LA4 6 24 properties
Sales by property type
Detached 8
Semi Detached 18
Terrace 20
Flats 18
Bungalows 20
Park Homes 3
Are there any notable changes?
You will know by now I look to look closely as to what is selling. The biggest market shift this month has to be the increase in sales at the lower end of the market. There has been a 100% increase in just 1 month. 75% of these sales fell in the no chain category and almost half looked to need various levels of improvement. We have noticed an increase in people looking to invest in Morecambe and it looks like they are actively buying. Is Morecambe slowly becoming a property hotspot? It’s one to watch especially with all the investment being planned in the area.
15 estate agents were involved with the 89 property sales across Morecambe in October. Our biggest success story this month was bungalow which sold in Westgate. It took just 4 weeks to agree on a sale at a superb price for the client. Higher than other agent had valued it at!
To keep up to date with happenings in the Morecambe Housing Market, check out our website at www.jdg.co.uk or just email me at darren@jdg.co.uk. At JDG we are here to help.
Ps. If you would like to know what your home is worth why not try out out a quick online valuation tool. It takes less than 60 seconds. It is not as accurate as having us out, but it will give you a rough guideline. Try it out and let me know what you think. Click below to give it a try!
https://valuation.jdg.co.uk/home/800-jd-gallagher