Property boom in Kenilworth and Leamington due to shortage of homes
04-26-2014
By Coventry Telegraph
'As prices continue to climb and finance is easier to come by, we find ourselves in the unusual position of simply not having enough homes to offer potential buyers'
Kenilworth's Brian Holt manager Julie Philpot says the lack of property coming onto the market is pushing up prices
Kenilworth and Leamington are experiencing their own mini property boom – due to a lack of homes coming on the market.
Local estate agency Brian Holt says a lack of available homes is pushing up prices, with prices soaring way above the annual six per cent a year between now and 2020 which has been predicted by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
Figures released in the latest monthly housing market survey carried out by RICS indicated a lack new properties coming onto the market nationally was pushing up the prices of those which were available for sale – with members predicting an annual six per cent rise for the next five years.
The report also said sales countrywide had hit a six-year high – with March being the 11th month in succession in which prices had risen – the longest period of consistent growth since the start of the financial crisis.
Julie Philpot, manager of Brian Holt’s Kenilworth branch, said the six per cent average is often being far exceeded in Kenilworth, where she said there is a “critical lack of properties coming onto the market”.
The knock-on effect is that those which are available are commanding prices way higher than they would have achieved a year ago – with the office having recently exchanged contracts on several family three-bed semis in popular school catchment areas for just under £300,000.
In Leamington, some properties which would last year have seen asking prices around £450,000 have been selling for up to £500,000.
Leamington manager Jane Canning said: “As prices continue to climb and finance is easier to come by, we find ourselves in the unusual position of simply not having enough homes to offer potential buyers.
"Those that are coming onto the market are being snapped up, which, in turn, is fuelling greater demand and higher prices.”