Shortage of stock and a fresh idea to get things moving
14 Feb 2022
As seen in the Yorkshire Post on Saturday 12th February and which includes an interview between Beadnall Copley founder Andrew Beadnall and Sharon Dale, the YP Property Editor @propertywords
Yorkshire house prices in January 2022 rose 8.7 per cent year on year, according to the latest Halifax house price index. The neighbouring North East recorded 10.9 per cent and the North West 12 per cent.
In Yorkshire, the average home price is £190,966, while in the UK it is now £276,759 with prices around £24,500 up on this time last year, and £37,500 higher than two years ago. Affordability remains at historically low levels as house price rises continue to outstrip earnings growth.
Russell Galley, managing director of the Halifax, says: “Despite record levels of first-time buyers stepping onto the ladder last year, younger generations still face significant barriers to home ownership as deposit requirements remain challenging.
“This situation is expected to become more acute in the short-term as household budgets face even greater pressure from an increase in the cost of living, and rises in interest rates begin to feed through to mortgage rates.”
Meantime, Kirstie Allsop’s recent comments that she felt “enraged” when people claimed they could not afford to buy a home and suggested they should widen their search to less desirable locations resulted in uproar on Twitter among would-be first-time buyers and their parents.
That reaction wasn’t surprising. According to Homelet, the average rent in Yorkshire is now £726 per calendar month which, when you add in the rising cost of living and having a reasonable quality of life, leaves little, if anything, for saving.
The start of 2022 has seen heightened demand for rental properties, up by 76 per cent compared to the New Year markets between 2018 and 2021 and yet the supply of rental properties is 39 per cent below levels typically observed at the start of the year. This imbalance is pushing rents up.
Meanwhile Russell Galley of the Halifax offers a glimmer of hope to would-be first-time buyers. He says: “While the limited supply of new housing stock on the market will continue to provide some support to house prices, it remains likely that the rate of house price growth will slow considerably over the next year.”
The present issue of lack of stock has prompted Beadnall Copley estate agents to also act as search agents for their vendors.
“With such a shortage of property available over the last 18 months, many of our clients have struggled to find somewhere to move to and we have found that it is no good simply just selling a property and thinking our job is done.
“We have taken a much more proactive approach in detailing exactly what our clients’ needs are then proactively going out and finding them their dream home,” says industry stalwart Andrew Beadnall.
“Acting as a cross between a search agent and match maker we have made use of the historic valuations we have undertaken over the last year we have sent out 24,000 targeted letters to specific streets/property types in areas where our clients are searching.
“We are always looking to do more for our clients and by offering this service at no extra cost we can save our sellers who want to buy thousands of pounds when compared to the traditional search agent.”
Property displayed is The Manor, Scarcroft, now Sold - subject to contract - via our database of registered buyers only, matching the purchasers specific requirements to this particular property.