‘Generation Rent (Forever)’ – 3,497 Harlow Tenants have no intention of ever buying a property to call home

The good old days of the 1970’s and 1980’s eh … with such highlights lowlights as 24% inflation, 17% interest rates, 3 day working week, 13% unemployment, power cuts ... those were the days (not)… but at least people could afford to buy their own home. So why aren’t the 20 and 30 something’s buying in the same numbers as they were 30 or 40 years ago?

Many people blame the credit crunch and global recession of 2008, which had an enormous impact on the Harlow (and UK) housing market. Predominantly, the 20 something first-time buyers who, confronting a problematic mortgage market, the perceived need for big deposits, reduced job security and declining disposable income, discovered it challenging to assemble the monetary means to get on to the Harlow property ladder.

However, I would say there has been something else at play other than the issue of raising a deposit - having sufficient income and rising property prices in Harlow. Whilst these are important factors and barriers to homeownership, I also believe there has been a generational change in attitudes towards home ownership in Harlow (and in fact the rest of the Country).

Back in 2011, the Halifax did a survey of thousands of tenants and 19% of tenants said they had no plans to buy a home for themselves. A recent, almost identical survey of tenants, carried out by The Deposit Protection Service revealed, in late 2016, that figure had risen to 38.4%, with many no-longer equating home ownership to success and believing renting to be better suited to their lifestyle.

You see, I believe renting is a fundamental part of the housing sector, and a meaningful proportion of the younger adult members of the Harlow population choose to be tenants as it better suits their plans and lifestyle. Local Government in Harlow (including the planners – especially the planners), land owners and landlords need an adaptable Harlow residential property sector that allows the diverse choices of these Harlow 20 and 30 year olds to be met.

This means, if we applied the same percentages to the current 9,107 Harlow tenants in their 3,764 private rental properties, 3,497 tenants have no plans to ever buy a property – good news for the landlords of those 18,636 properties. Interestingly, in the same report, just under two thirds (62%) of tenants said they didn’t expect to buy within the next year.

.. but does that mean the other third will be buying in Harlow in the next 12 months?

Some will, but most won’t … in fact, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) predicts that, by 2025, that the number of people renting will increase, not drop. Yes, many tenants might hope to buy but the reality is different for the reasons set out above.  The RICS predicts the number of tenants looking to rent will increase by 1.8 million households by 2025, as rising house prices continue to make home ownership increasingly unaffordable for younger generations.  So, if we applied this rise to Harlow, we will in fact need an additional 1,613 private rental properties over the next eight years (or 202 a year) … meaning the number of private rented properties in Harlow is projected to rise to an eye watering 5,377 households.

For more insight and thoughts like this on the Harlow Property Market – please visit the Harlow Property Blog at http://harlowproperty.blogspot.co.uk/

Harlow Property Market – Q4 Update

Well, hasn’t 2016 been eventful. The ups and downs of Brexit, the Queen’s 90^th, Andy Murray winning Wimbledon, Trump, Bake Off to Channel 4 and something close to the hearts of every buy to let landlord and homeowner in Harlow ... the Harlow property market.

So, let’s look at the headlines for the Harlow property market...

In the last month, Harlow property values rose by 0.97%, leaving them, year on year 16.9% higher, whilst interestingly, Harlow asking prices are down 2.0% month on month. All three statistics go to show the Harlow property market has recovered well after the summer lull, which was worsened by the uncertainty surrounding the EU vote back in June. Irrespective of all the issues, the average value of a Harlow home now stands at £318,500.

Generally, Harlow asking prices continue to hold up well, as asking prices are 5.8% higher year on year. At this time of year, asking prices tend to drop on the run up to Christmas and locally, they have dropped by 2.0% this month (November 2016), although this still compares well with last year’s drop in Harlow asking prices, as we saw asking prices drop by 0.3% in November 2015.

Now it’s true to say, after chatting with fellow property professionals in Harlow, all of us have seen the number of property sales fall slightly, suggesting a slowing market, but it is very early days and it could be the time of year. Also, the numbers are limited, so it’s interesting to take note from a recent survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, stating new buyer enquiries and new instructions are falling at the same rate, suggesting that there will not be a downward pressure on property values.

Looking at the figures for the UK (as we can’t just look at Harlow in isolation), property values are generally rising slower than a few years ago, but on a positive note, there's still growth across the UK. You see, slowing property value growth isn't solely Brexit related, but after a number years of double digit rises in property values, affordability has weakened and cooling price growth is widely seen to be a natural correction of the market.

On the other hand, interest rates being at a record low of 0.25% are helping the property market. The cut in interest rates in the late summer was the medicine for the post-Brexit worry and will, as a consequence, ensure that the UK economy continues to be underpinned by buoyant property prices.

 So, what will happen in 2017 in the Harlow property market?

Some say until we know what type of exit the UK will make from the EU it is hard to evaluate the outcome. Although, I believe, the whole Brexit issue is a sideshow to the main issue in the UK (and Harlow) housing market as a whole. As I have mentioned time and time again over the last few months, the biggest issue is demand outstripping supply when it comes to the number of households required to house us all. Harlow has an ever-growing population: with immigration (we still have at least two years of free movement from EU members into the UK), people living longer and the fact we need thousands of additional households as the country has nearly 115,000 divorces a year (where one household becomes two households).  These are interesting times ahead! 

Harlow Semi Detached House Prices rise by 337% in 20 years

The semi-detached house with its bay windows and net curtains has long been ridiculed as an emblem of safe, lacklustre and desperately uncool suburban life; the homes of the likes of Hyacinth Bucket in Keeping up Appearances and more latterly Alan Partridge – but they could have the last laugh ..

The semi can now laugh in the face of its posher detached counterpart, which saw a rise of only 242% in the same 20-year period. Looking at smaller properties, flats/apartments rose 397%, whilst terraced houses rose 372% (although they were starting from a lower base and demand from buy to let landlords has had a big part in driving the values on that type of house (i.e. the price a buy to let landlord is prepared to pay is driven by the rent the landlord can achieve).

In 1996 the average value of a Harlow semi stood at £87,100, today it stands at £381,200

Such is the attractiveness of semis, which are cheaper than detached houses but have most of the same benefits for families. Semi-detached houses were built in their hundreds of thousands by the Victorians and Edwardians between the wars and through to the present day. Interestingly in the late 19^th Century and early 20^th century – they often weren’t referred to as semi-detached – but as villas!

So whilst Europeans live on top of each other in apartments us British chose, in the late Victorian and early Edwardian times, suburban comfort, being near … but not too near, the neighbours! I once heard someone say the semi-detached house was a peculiar crossbreed that doesn’t stand on its own — it is inseparable from its neighbour — yet somehow still embodies a dream of suburban independence.

Nearly one in five houses in Harlow is a semi-detached house

 There are 5,243 semi-detached properties in Harlow and they represent 15.13% of all the households in Harlow. Harlow has such a mix of semi-detached properties with the semis to more modern ones built in the last couple of decades. Especially with the older ones, the semi offered a hall to provided separation between the reception rooms and privacy for their occupants. Also the downstairs offered larger rooms to accommodate dining tables, whilst upstairs, bedrooms were smaller, yet cosy.

However, probably the most overlooked aspect of popularity for semis is the garden. The front garden, designed to separate the house from the world, and the back garden designed for private relaxation. The semi in the suburbs was relaxing, well presented, plumbed and enhanced by a garden so that when a window was opened the air had a chance of being genuinely fresh… and it’s for all those reasons why 104 semi-detached houses have been sold in Harlow in the last 12 months.  Still as popular today as they were with the Victorians all those years ago – some things just stand the test of time!

For more thoughts on the Harlow Property Market – please visit the Harlow Property Market Blog at http://harlowproperty.blogspot.co.uk/

Harlow Property Values increase by 1.54% ... good or bad news?

“How's the Harlow housing market doing?” asked an upbeat Harlow landlord last week.  “Quite strange”, I replied. Our landlord was perplexed! Let me explain...

Even the Brexit vote has not hindered Harlow’s steady rise in property value, as Harlow property values went up 1.54% last month alone, leaving Harlow values 16.7% higher than a year ago. An increase in demand from buyers and an uninspiring level of supply (i.e. the number of properties on the market) has driven up the value of the Harlow’s housing.

...And that is where the issue is. With Brexit, the coalition of the 2010-15, a double-dip recession and post credit crunch fallout – I was perplexed that the Harlow property market (and values) has remained so strong, still 24.6% higher than 20 months ago. That is until you start to look into the real reasons why we find ourselves in such a great place.

The Harlow (and the UK) housing market is built on the foundations of basic economic rules that any GCSE Economics student should understand. However, at a time when, as a country, we seem eager to uncouple ourselves from all manner of proven facts, anything is up for grabs.

Even the wary RICS said throughout the UK, most of its Chartered Surveyors anticipated house prices to increase in the next six months, which seems contradictory given economic cautions from Mr Hammond and HM Treasury. Even though inflation will rise to around 2% to 3% in 2017 and perhaps a little more in 2018 because of Sterling’s devaluation, together with a high probability of a decelerating GDP and a slight rise in unemployment, how can the RICS and most of my landlords be so confident about the value of our homes?

Well, look from where we are starting. Nationally, a base of low unemployment, low inflation and preposterously low interest rates, while in Harlow, the local economy is doing quite well for itself. Confidence also plays a part. Confidence can supersede basic economic facts for a short time at least, which is why actual property market changes tend to be more exaggerated, as confidence can turn both positive and negative very quickly. The fact is, there is a long-term relationship between property values, wages and unemployment. For example, looking at the graph below, you can quite clearly see the ratio of property values to earnings is nowhere near as high as it reached in 2008 and currently is in the middle of the range for the last 30 years. As a country, we are in a good place.

 

By April 2017, Article 50 will be invoked. This will bring additional political tomfooleries and economic ups and downs. With both purchasers and vendors predisposed by the 24-hour news cycle, which let’s face it, gets more haphazard by the day, it is likely to prove a challenging couple of years … and yes, Harlow property values might drop slightly in 2017, but based on what we know of the UK plc now, the UK and Harlow property values are not projected to move that much over 2017 or 2018.  Going into the next two years, we are in much better financial shape as a country compared to the last two crashes of 1987 and 2008.

 

But, on the other side of the coin, what we also know is that we don't know much about the form of our economic future or indeed many other facets of our lives. Confidence will continue to be the key player in the Harlow housing market for a while longer - yet this may spur some much needed second-hand market activity? Now, where is my crystal ball?

 

£13m paid in Stamp Duty by Harlow Residents

 

“A pound saved is worth two pounds earned . . . after taxes” is what my Grandfather used to say. He loved his irony, yet was always a wise man, and it is tax I want to talk about today, in particular, property taxation .. Stamp Duty in fact.

Apart from some minor exemptions, Stamp Duty is paid by anyone buying a property over £125,000 in the UK. It presently raises £10.68bn a year for the HM Treasury (interesting when compared with £27.6bn in fuel duty, £10.69bn in alcohol duty and £9.48bn in tobacco duty).

 In the latest set of data from HMRC, in the MP constituency that covers Harlow, property buyers paid £13m stamp duty in one year alone – a lot of money in anyone’s eyes (although not as much as the £196m in income tax that all of us in the same area paid last year).

 

However, as you may know, George Osborne introduced an additional tax for landlords and from 1^st April 2016 they had to pay an additional 3% stamp duty surcharge on top of the normal stamp duty rate when purchasing a buy to let property. There were tales of woe and Armageddon with a report by Deutsche Bank suggesting that the new surcharge could see house prices fall by as much as 20%.

 HMRC data released in the Summer for Quarter 2 (Q2) of 2016 did seem to back up those fears as they published some worrying figures; only one in seven properties purchased was a second home or buy-to-let (in real numbers, only 30,300 of the 207,900 properties in Q2 were bought by landlords).

 In previous articles, I spoke about the slump of property transactions after the 1^st of April (as landlords rushed through their property purchases in March to beat the April deadline). In Q2 of 2016, £1.976bn was raised in Stamp Duty from Residential Property. Of that £1.976bn, £652m was paid by buy to let landlords (£424m in normal stamp duty and £228m in the additional 3% surcharge).

 However, looking at Q3, the numbers have improved significantly. Of the 235,000 property sales, nearly one in four of them (56,100 to be precise) were bought by buy to let landlords and of the £2.208bn in stamp duty, £864m was paid in ‘normal’ stamp duty by BTL landlords and an impressive £442m paid by those same landlords in the additional stamp duty surcharge.

 The statistics suggest buy to let investors have thankfully not been deterred by the stamp duty surcharge introduced in April this year. The figures also show that 65.4% of "buy to let" purchases cost less than £250,000, 23.7% of properties were in the £250k to £500k range and 10.9% (or 6,100 additional properties) of buy to let properties bought cost over £500k – interestingly nearly one in four (22.2%) of £500k properties purchased in Q3 were buy to let properties.

 It just goes to back up what I stated a few weeks ago when I suggested that many investors had rushed to make purchases before 31^st March, making figures in the following months (Q2) artificially low when the 3% supplement was introduced, but in Q3 the number of buy to let properties purchased increased by 85%.

 It just goes to show you shouldn’t believe everything you read in the newspapers! I can assure you the Harlow property market is doing just fine.

For more thoughts on the Harlow Property Market like this... visit the Harlow Property Market Blog

http://harlowproperty.blogspot.co.uk/

 

 

Harlow First Time Buyers Are Paying 15.5% More Than 12 Months Ago

Figures just released by the Bank of England, show that for the first half of 2016, £128.73bn was lent by UK banks to buy UK property - impressive when you consider only £106.7bn was lent in the first half of 2015. Even more interesting, was that most of the difference was in Q2, as £68.12bn was lent by UK banks in new mortgages for house purchase, which is the highest it has been for two years. Looking locally, in Harlow last quarter, £301.1m was loaned on CM19 properties alone!

Even though the Bank won’t be releasing the Q3 figures until December 2016, as I discussed a few weeks ago, HMRC have published their own preliminary data to suggest Q3 will be even better, with a massive growth of buy-to-let landlords to the housing market in that time frame. Fascinating, as it seems to fly in the face of the popular narrative – that the uncertainty surrounding Brexit would negatively impact buyer sentiment.

And it’s not just buy-to-let landlords that seem to be flourishing. I am finding that first-time buyers are also a lot more confident too. Low, and now negative, inflation has had a tangible impact on household finances and first-time buyers feel more secure in their jobs. Couple with a low interest rate environment and you have all the ingredients for a strengthening property market. To back that up with numbers, of the £68.12bn of mortgages lent in the Quarter (Q2), £14.9bn was lent to first-time buyers (the highest proportion of that overall lending for over two years at 21.99%).

 When I looked at the data for Harlow Council area, the average price paid by first-time buyers (FTB’S) was £227,500, which is a rise of 0.93% from last month and a rise of 15.56% to twelve months ago. The Land Registry then categorise the remaining buyers into cash buyers or those buying with a mortgage. The average price paid by cash buyers was £233,225, a rise of 0.72% from last month and a rise of 15.29% to twelve months ago, whilst buyers with mortgages (but not FTB’s), the average price paid by them was £254,521, a rise of 0.97% from last month and a rise of 15.59% to twelve months ago.

 

 

 

What surprised me with these figures was how close the property prices, values and percentages were to each other. It just goes to show the combination of low mortgage rates and a stable job market will continue to have a positive effect on the Harlow and UK market.  And that is why, while there is undoubtedly more cautiousness in the market at present than a year or so ago (among borrowers and mortgage companies alike) - mortgage rates are so competitive that they are inducing people to commit to a home purchase.

It seems the great Brexit uncertainty was over hyped, and house price growth as well as mortgage approvals, could pick up pace into 2017.

For more thoughts on the Harlow Property Market like this .. visit the Harlow Property Market Blog http://harlowproperty.blogspot.co.uk/

 

 

Harlow Housing Crisis? Only 1.2% of Harlow Homes Are For Sale

Harlow Housing Crisis? Only 1.2% of Harlow Homes Are For Sale

The Harlow Property Market continues to disregard the end of the world prophecies of a post Brexit fallout with a return to business as usual after the summer break.

The challenge every Harlow property buyer has faced over the last few years is a lack of choice – there simply hasn't been much to choose from when buying (be it for investment or owner occupation). Levels are still well down on what would be considered healthy levels from earlier in this decade, as there is still a substantial demand/supply imbalance. Until we start to see consistent and steady increases in properties coming on to the market in Harlow, the market is likely to see upward pressure on property values continue.

However, there may be hope for first time buyers, with homeowners looking to move upmarket and buy to let landlords looking for their next investment, the Harlow property supply crisis just might be starting to ease, as the number of new properties coming onto the market in Harlow has increased.

For example, last month CM17 saw 72 new properties coming on to the market, not bad when you consider at one point during the year it was as low as early 30’s. With the average Harlow property value hitting a record high, reaching almost £313,000 according to my research, this shortage of properties on the market over the last two years has contributed to this ‘fuller' average property figure, but there is a glimmer of hope that the Harlow's supply crisis may be starting to ease.

As I write this article, 1.23% of Harlow properties are up for sale. In terms of actual chimney pots, that equates to 350 properties on the market in Harlow (within 3 miles of the centre of Harlow) – which, when compared to only a year ago when that figure stood at 245, is a serious increase in the number of properties available to buy. Split down into the type of property, it makes even more fascinating reading...

 

·         Detached Properties in Harlow  - 105 on the market a year ago compared to 105 on the market now – no change

·         Semi Detached Properties in Harlow - 35 on the market a year ago compared to 88 on the market now - an increase of 151%

·         Terraced Properties in Harlow - 48 on the market a year ago compared to 92 on the market now - an increase of 92%

·         Flats / Apartments Properties in Harlow  - 40 on the market a year ago compared to 52 on the market now - an increase of 30%

With realistically priced properties flying off the shelves and this increase in new properties (especially semis and terraces), this is evidence of strength in the Harlow housing market that many didn't expect. Many believed that the Harlow property market wasn't going to be strong enough post Brexit - as what was a sellers' market before the Brexit vote and Buyers' market in the early months after it, may now be somewhere in between and the market might just be coming back into balance.

However, all this will mean property values won't continue to grow at the same extent they have been over the last 12 to 18 months, and in some months (especially on the run up to Christmas and early in the New Year), values might dip slightly. This won't be down to Brexit but a re-balancing of the Harlow Property Market – which is good news for everyone.

For more thoughts on the Harlow Property Market, please visit the Harlow Property Blog http://harlowproperty.blogspot.co.uk/

Private Renting set to grow by 1,600 Harlow households by 2025

Private Renting set to grow by 1,600 Harlow households by 2025

I was having a most interesting chat the other day with a Harlow landlord when we were looking at a property. As I am sure you are aware, I am always happy to cast my eye over any potential buy to let purchase in Harlow, be that you emailing me a Rightmove link, a brochure in the post or even treading the carpet and seeing it together. I don't charge for that, and you don't even need to be a client of mine. We got talking about the Harlow Property Market and this landlord brought up the subject of a report he had read from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) that stated almost 1.8m new rental homes are needed by 2025 to keep up with current demand from tenants. He wanted to know what this meant for Harlow.

Well my blog reading friends, some commentators said last Winter that buy to let was about to die, what with the new stamp duty changes and how mortgage tax relief will be calculated. Others even said 500,000 rental properties would flood the market nationally in the 12 months after the new Stamp Duty rules came into force on the 1st April 2016 as landlords left the rental market. Well, all I can say is, I wish all the landlords of those half a million properties would hurry up and put them on the market – because I have plenty of other potential landlords wanting to buy them!

Back to the matter in hand.. if the RICS and PwC are indeed correct, what does this mean for Harlow? The fact is, as a country, we are facing a precarious rental shortage and need to get Harlow building in a way that benefits a cross-section of Harlow society, not just the fortunate few. I call on the Prime Minister to drop the higher stamp duty tax on buy to let purchases to ease the pressure on the rental market.

Of the 34,700 households in Harlow, currently 9,100 tenants live in 3,800 private rented properties. If we apportion those 1.8m households equally around the Country, that means in nine years’ time, the number of rental properties in Harlow needs to rise by 1,600 (i.e. 42.8%) .. taking the total number of rented properties in the city to 5,400.

That means Harlow landlords need to buy around 200 properties a year between now and 2025 to meet that demand – because according to my calculations, an additional 3,900 people will want to live in all those 'additional' Harlow rental properties – so why is the government penalising landlords?

Thankfully the new housing minister Gavin Barwell detached Teresa May's new administration from the Cameron/Osborne laser-like focus of just home ownership to solve our housing issues, saying "we need to build more homes for every single type of person needing a home and not focus on one single tenure". The private rented sector became a stooge under David Cameron's watch and still, with increasingly unaffordable Harlow house prices, the majority of new Harlow households will be relying on the rental sector in the future to house them. I can only say Westminster must put in place the measures that will allow the rental sector to flourish. Any restrictions on the supply of rental property will push up rents (bad news for tenants), thus side-lining those members of Harlow society who are already struggling. Let's hope this new Government continues to see the contribution landlords give to the country as a whole.

Back in the Spring, there was a surge in Harlow landlords buying buy to let property in Harlow as they tried to beat George Osborne’s new stamp duty changes which kicked in on the 1^st April 2016. To give you an idea of the sort of numbers we are talking about, below are the property statistics for sales either side of the deadline in CM19.

 

Jan 2016 – 21 properties sold

Feb 2016 – 14 properties sold

March 2016 – 36 properties sold

April 2016 – 10 properties sold

May 2016 – 13 properties sold

 

Normally, the number of sales in the Spring months is very similar, irrespective of the month. However, as one can see, this year was a completely different picture as landlords moved their purchases forward to beat the stamp duty increase. You would think that even with a basic knowledge of supply and demand economics, rents would be affected in a downwards direction?

 

However, there appears to be no apparent effect on the levels of rent being asked in Harlow - and more importantly achieved - and this direction of rents is not likely to inverse any time soon, particularly as legislation planned for 2017 might reduce rental stock and push property values ever upward. The decline of buy to let mortgage interest tax relief will make some properties lossmaking, forcing landlords to pass on costs to tenants in the form of higher rents just to stay afloat. Even those who can still operate may be deterred from making further investments, reducing rental stock at a time of severe property shortage.

 … but it’s not all bad news for tenants. Whilst average rents in Harlow since 2005 have increased by 18.6%, inflation has been 38.5% over the same time frame, meaning Harlow tenants are 19.9% better off in real terms when it comes to their rent (which is a sizeable chunk of most people’s monthly household budgets)

 

Year	Average Rent in Harlow per month
2005	974
2006	1001
2007	1022
2008	1051
2009	1057
2010	1043
2011	1060
2012	1079
2013	1087
2014	1097
2015	1123
2016	1155

 

 

I found it particularly interesting looking at the rent rises over the last five years in Harlow, as it was five years ago we started to see the very early green shoots of growth of the Harlow economy.  As a whole, following the Credit crunch (2011), rents in Harlow have risen by an average of 1.9% a year – fascinating don’t you think?

 

The view I am trying to portray is that while renting is often portrayed as the unfavorable alternative to home ownership, many young Harlow professionals like renting as it gives them adaptability with their life. Rents will continue to rise which is good news for landlords as buy to let is an investment but, as can be seen from the statistics, tenants have also had a good deal with below inflation increases in rents in the past. It’s a win-win situation for everyone although on a very personal note, it’s imperative in the future that tenants are not thwarted from saving for a deposit by excessive rental hikes – there has to be a balance.

 

For more thoughts and opinions on the Harlow Property Market, if you are a Harlow Homeowner or Harlow landlord, please visit the Harlow Property Blog http://harlowproperty.blogspot.co.uk/

 

House Prices in Harlow rise by more than 22% in the last 18 months

Over the last month, the Harlow property market has seen some interesting movement in house prices, as property values in the Harlow Council area rose by 1.5% in the last month, to leave annual price growth at 16.2%. These compare well to the national figures where property prices across the UK saw a monthly uplift of 0.42%, meaning the annual property values across the Country are 8.3% higher, this is all despite the constraining factors of Stamp Duty changes in the spring and more recently our friend Brexit.

Looking at the figures for the last 18 months makes even more fascinating reading, whereby house prices are 22.3% higher, again thought provoking when compared to the national average figure of 13.6% higher.

However, it gets more remarkable when we look at how the different sectors of the Harlow market are performing. Over the last 18 months, in the Harlow Council area, the best performing type of property was the detached, which outperformed the area average by 1.64% whilst the worst performing type was the apartment, which under-performed the area average by 2.26%.

 Now the difference doesn’t sound that much, but remember two things, this is only over eighteen months and the gap of 3.9% (the difference between the detached at +1.64% and apartments at -2.26%) converts into a few thousand pounds disparity, when you consider the average price paid for a detached property in Harlow itself over the last 12 months was £478,700 and the average price paid for a Harlow apartment was £168,900 over the same time frame.

 I know all the Harlow landlords and homeowners will want to know how each of the property types have performed, so this is what has happened to property prices over the last 18 months in the area...

·         Overall Average          +22.3%

·         Detached                     +24.3%

·         Semi Detached            +24.1%

·         Terraced                     +22.7%

·         Apartments                 +19.5%

 

 

So what does all this mean to Harlow homeowners and Harlow landlords and what does the future hold? 

 

When I looked at the month-by-month figures for the area, you can quite clearly see there is a slight tempering of the Harlow property market over these last few months. I have mentioned in previous articles that the number of properties on the market in Harlow has increased this summer, something that hasn’t happened since 2008. Greater choice for buyers means, using simple supply and demand economics, that top prices won’t be achieved on every Harlow property. You see, some of that growth in Harlow property values throughout early 2016 may have come about because of a surge in house purchase activity, an indirect result of the increase in stamp duty on second homes from April, thus providing a temporary boost to prices.

 

However, it may be possible the recent pattern of robust employment growth, growing real earnings and low borrowing costs will tilt the demand/supply seesaw in favour of sellers and exert upward pressure on prices once again in the quarters ahead.

 

 

...And Harlow property values, assuming that everything goes well with Brexit, I believe in twelve months’ time we should see values in the order of 6% to 10% higher.