Housing market improves in Staffordshire as property prices increase
01-12-2014
By The Sentinel By Yasamin Saeidi
Things are looking up for the housing market in Staffordshire in 2014. After a miserable few years for homeowners, a spell of optimism has hit the property market in recent months.
The Sentinel reported back in 2011 that the average house price in Stoke-on-Trent was the lowest in the country at £73,733. The average house price in Staffordshire was reported to be £134,460 and house sales saw a nationwide general decline.
By comparison, the average price of a house in Stoke-on-Trent now stands at £123,623, having seen an increase of 3.76% on last year’s figures, according to Zoopla. The average price of a house in Staffordshire has enjoyed a 4.72% leap in the past year and is now a much healthier £157,877.
Stoke-on-Trent remains the cheapest place to buy a house in Staffordshire, while Lichfield has the county’s highest average selling price at £225,343.
Tom Folwell from family run estate agent Folwells, who operate in Newcastle, Stone and Market Drayton, remains cautious but optimistic:
“Generally the market has been very active. We had a very busy end to last year and things are looking positive for the start of 2014. There has been a lot of talk of house prices rising up nationally but that can sometimes be a bit of a sweeping generalisation as it always depends on the area and the property itself. But we are seeing signs of prices and figures of first time buyers creeping up.”
The rise in first time buyers has also been felt across the county and nationwide – with Help to Buy schemes and a fall in interest rates seeing more people stepping onto the property ladder.