I was having an interesting chat
with some homeowners who live in one of those lovely bay fronted semis in The
Saint’s area of Heath, between Rhydhelig Avenue and Heathwood Road. They wanted
to know my thoughts on the current state of the Heath property market.
With the Conservatives winning
the General Election in May, this did release some pent up demand as people
were holding back due to the political uncertainty of a potential hung
parliament. However, with the result that ensued, confidence has returned and the
signs are good in the City as a whole, as the underlying picture is likely to
be one of decent yet modest recovery. This will be supported by favourable
conditions in the South Wales economy, though it will be limited by a reduction
in the number of properties coming up for sale, the new mortgage lending rules introduced
just over a year ago and affordability pressures.
... and it was the mortgage
lending that particularly interested them as he worked in finance. They had
read a report in the newspapers that according to the Council of Mortgage
Lenders, the level of mortgage lending had soared to a seven year high in the
UK and they were worried that people were mortgaging themselves to levels that
they wouldn’t be able sustain when interest rates rose. I was able to tell them
that if you added up everyone’s mortgage
in Heath, it would total £167.4m (£167,461,000 to be exact). That is a huge
amount of mortgage debt until you realise it is a drop in the ocean when
compared to the total value of all the properties in Heath.
The total combined
value of all the
Properties
in Heath is £1,272,709,368 (ie
£1.27billion)
Therefore, in Heath, the level
of mortgages as a whole is not an issue, as the level of
mortgages only represents 13.1% of the total value.
Looking at the current situation
regarding the saleability of Heath properties, 127 of the 230 properties for
sale have a buyer and are sold subject to contract. However, delve deeper and
of the 51 properties that have come on the market in the last 28 days (at the
time of writing), only 8 have sold. The mix of properties sold were three semis
ranging in price between £270k and £365k, four terraced houses ranging in price
between £180k and £235k and a retirement apartment on the edge of Heath for
£50k. It just shows you have to be realistic when it comes to pricing,
especially if you want a reasonably quick sale.
