Mid Sussex Property Values 2.7% higher than year ago – What’s the PLAN to fix the Mid Sussex Property Market?

It’s been nearly 18 months since Sajid Javid, the Tory Government’s Housing Minister published the White Paper “Fixing the Broken UK Housing Market”, meanwhile Mid Sussex property values continue to rise at 2.7% (year on year for the council area) and the number of new homes being constructed locally bumps along at a snail’s pace, creating a potential perfect storm for those looking to buy and sell.

The White Paper is important for the UK and Mid Sussex people, as it will ensure we have long-term stability and longevity in property market as whole. Mid Sussex homeowners and Mid Sussex landlords need to be aware of these issues in the report to ensure they don’t lose out and ensure the local housing market is fit for purpose. The White Paper wanted more homes to be built in the next couple of decades, so it might seem counter-intuitive for existing home-owners and landlords to encourage more homes to be built and a change in the direction of housing provision – as this would appear to have a negative effect on their own property.

Yet the country needs a diversified and fluid property market to allow the economy as whole to grow and flourish, which in turn will be a greater influence on whether prices go up or down in the long term. I am sure every homeowner or landlord in Mid Sussex doesn’t want another housing crisis like we had in 1974, 1988 and most recently in 2008.

Now, as Sajid Javid has moved on to the Home Secretary role, the 17th Housing Minister in 20 years (poisoned chalice or journeyman’s cabinet post) James Brokenshire has been given the task of making this White Paper come alive. The White Paper had a well-defined notion of what the issues were.

The first of the four points brought up was to give local authorities powers to speed up house building and ensure developers complete new homes on time. Secondly, statutory methods demanding local authorities and builders build at higher densities (i.e. more houses per hectare) where appropriate. The other two points were incentives for smaller builders to take a larger share of the new homes market and help for people renting.

However, let’s go back to the two initial points of planning and density.

(1) Planning

For planning to work, we need a robust Planning Dept. Looking at data from the Local Government’s Association, in Mid Sussex, the council is below the regional average, only spending £28.26 per person for the Planning Authority, compared the regional average of £38.14 per head – which will mean the planning department will be hard pressed to meet those targets.

However, 95% of planning applications are decided within the statutory 8-week initial period, above the regional average of 81% (see the graph below).  I am slightly disappointed and also pleased with the numbers for our local authority when it comes to the planning and the budget allowed by our Politician to this vital service.

(2) Density of Population

4.2 people live in every hectare (or 2.471 acres) in Mid Sussex

It won’t surprise you that 114,715 of 139,860 Mid Sussex residents live in the urban conurbations of the authority, giving a density of 17.9 people per hectare (again – much lower than I initially thought), whilst the villages have a density of 0.9 people per hectare.

I would agree with the Governments’ ambition to make more efficient use of land and avoid building homes at low densities where there is a shortage of land for meeting identified housing needs, ensuring that the density and form of development reflect the character, accessibility and infrastructure.

It’s all very good building lots of houses – but we need the infrastructure to go with it.

Talking to a lot of Mid Sussex people, their biggest fear of all this building is a lack of infrastructure for those extra houses (the extra roads, doctor’s surgeries, schools etc.). I know most Mid Sussex homeowners and landlords want more houses to be built to house their family and friends, but irrespective of the density it’s the infrastructure that goes with the housing that is just as important, and this is where I think the White Paper failed to go as far as I feel it should have done.

Interesting times ahead I believe!

Great(er) Expectations: Why Burgess Hill Home Sellers are Having to Reduce Their Asking Prices by an Average of £22,200 Each.

As we leave the memorably hot summer behind us, some interesting statistics have come to light on the Burgess Hill Property Market which will be thought provoking for both homeowners and buy to let landlords alike.

Over the last 12 months 429 households have changed hands in Burgess Hill, interesting when compared with the 10-year average of 537 households per year.

Yet, for the purpose of this week’s article, I want to discuss the pricing of the current crop of Burgess Hill’s property sellers and the prices they are asking for their homes and the prices they are achieving (or not as at the case may be). It is so important for all property owners to know the real story, so they can judge for themselves where they stand in the current Burgess Hill housing market, thus enabling them to make suitable and informed decisions, and that is why, in my blog about the Mid Sussex Property Market, I pride myself in telling the people of Mid Sussex the real answers, not just the ones they want to hear.

The national average of homes selling at or above the asking price currently stands at around 10%, so around 90% go below the asking price – but by how much? Well according to Rightmove, in the Burgess Hill area, the average difference between the ‘FINAL asking price’ to the price agreed is 3.1% yet note I highlighted the word FINAL in the last statement.

You see some Estate Agents will deliberately over inflate the suggested initial asking price to the house seller, because it gives them a greater chance to secure the property on that agent’s books, as opposed to a competitor. This practice is called overvaluing. Now of course, each homeowner wants to get the most for their property, it is quite often their biggest asset – yet some agents know this and prey on those house sellers. You might ask, what is the issue with that?

Well, you only get one chance of hitting the market as a new property. Everyone has access to the internet, Rightmove and Zoopla etc. and your potential buyers will know the market like the back of their hand. If you have a 3 bed semi that is on the market for a 3 bed detached house price those buyers will ignore you. Your Burgess Hill property sticks on the market, potential buyers will keep seeing your Burgess Hill property on Rightmove each week, then start to think there is something wrong with it, dismiss it even further, until you, as the house seller have to reduce the asking price so much (to make it appear inexpensive) to get it away. According to our own research, the average house buyer only views between 4 and 5 houses before buying – so don’t assume viewers will come round your optimistically priced (i.e. overvalued) property, thinking they will knock you down – no quite the opposite!

 

So how widespread is overvaluing in Burgess Hill? The results might surprise you! 
 

27.3% of properties in Burgess Hill, currently on the market, have reduced their asking price by an average reduction of 5.6% (which equates to £22,200 each).

So, all I ask is this; be realistic and you will sell at a decent price to a decent buyer. First time – every time – enabling you to move on to the next chapter of your life.