There is no city house prices boom - estate agents
BBCA city apparently seeing a growth in house prices is not experiencing a boom in the market, estate agents have said.
They have spoken out after mortgage lender Halifax suggested average house prices in Stoke-on-Trent grew by 17.2% in the 12 months up to September 2024 – the largest rise in the UK.
However, estate agents across the Potteries have said the picture on the ground is somewhat different, with the rise nearer 4%.
Halifax said its figures were sourced from its own database and based on crude averages, and were not comparable with other data-sets.
Since the new year headlines, estate agent Belvoir has brought together official data, including from the Land Registry, Bank of England and Office for National Statistics, to suggest the rise locally was closer to 4%.
Managing director Ramona Hirschi said Stoke-on-Trent was unlikely to be achieving the UK's highest growth, with the average price in November at £142,500.
"If you had 17% growth, you would expect lots of buyers," she said. "You'd expect every house on the market to sell within a few days, [with] offers above asking price.
"But we, and others, have not been seeing that for the last two years."
She said that 12 months ago estate agents were saying prices were stagnant.
But she said: "Now, we can say price rises, on average, are up 4%, which is steady and sustainable.
"It will be keeping in line with inflation and wage growth, so it's much better for the local economy."
At Halifax, head of mortgages Amanda Bryden said areas like Stoke and Wolverhampton have seen prices rise as people looked for more affordable places to live.
"This trend is causing house prices in some areas to flip from slowing to growing, such as Stoke-on-Trent."
She said the city was the biggest faller in 2023, but showed the highest rate of growth regionally in 2024.
Nicola Daniels has been hoping for house prices and mortgage rates to come down, but has decided to carry on renting for now.
She hopes to bring her daughter to live with her, along with her five-month-old grandson.
"It's difficult out there," she said. "Houses that are ideal just get snapped up really quickly. Those that don't, you're left wondering what is wrong with them.
"I've been looking for a rental for four months. In some cases, landlords can be very selective over who they want in their properties, so you have to tick a lot of boxes."
Meanwhile, Stoke-on-Trent City Council is aware of a chronic need for affordable homes.
The local authority has secured £2.2m of government funding to recondition brownfield sites for housing, and clearance of two sites in Bentilee and Shelton is a few months away.
More than 150 homes, including a mix of apartments and houses, will be built by an approved developer on land once occupied by a primary school and the former Olympus Engineering works.
Councillor Finlay Gordon-McCusker, Labour cabinet member for transport, infrastructure and regeneration, said: "There are 3,000 people on the council housing waiting list and many more waiting for social housing.
"It's a struggle for affordable rented properties and, added to that, we've seen house prices increase."
He said the council had a third site at Booth Street, where it was building nearly 100 homes.
Ms Hirschi welcomes the fact there are new family homes on the market, but warned those looking to sell not to over-price their property, because of continued volatility.
She said: "There are inflated prices already. You'll see some terraced houses on the market now for three to six months, when just a few weeks ago we could sell them in a few weeks.
"Detached houses can be on for six to 12 months, so it can be damaging to inflate house prices."
Estate agents in the city said they expected a steady winter, but nothing dramatic or headline-grabbing.
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