Property values in Milton Keynes rose
by 1.2% in March. This follows several months of sluggish activity in the Milton
Keynes property market in the run up to the Election, putting the average price
of a property in Milton Keynes at £247,200, 12.5% higher than in March 2014.
Interestingly, the Council of
Mortgage Lenders and Estate Agent trade bodies over the last few months have reported
seeing a fall in mortgage lending and enquiries from prospective homebuyers. This
is important because it comes amid an overall fall in housing market activity
in Milton Keynes. Data from the Land Registry said completed house sales in Milton
Keynes in the three months to January 2015, (the most up-to-date figures
available) fell by 7.83% compared to the same three month period up to January
2014.
However, I believe that the
slowdown in property sales in Milton Keynes is supporting Milton Keynes property
values, as there is a shortage of houses coming onto the market. Even though in
the whole of the first Quarter of 2015, Milton Keynes property value increases
may seem subdued when compared to 2014, let us remember, property values are
still rising well above the level of inflation.
As I have said many times before,
the population in Milton Keynes is growing at a much higher rate than the
number of properties being built. This increasing demand for a roof over
people’s head, which is outpacing the supply of new houses being built in Milton
Keynes, is creating a severe imbalance in the Milton Keynes (in fact the whole
of UK’s) housing market, thus making homeownership an ever increasingly distant
dream for many of Milton Keynes’s potential first time buyers.
In fact, I still maintain the view
that house prices are likely to rise by around 3 to 5% in Milton Keynes in
2015, even after taking into account this blip at start of the year. The reason
being is that the rise reflects both strong economic conditions and steady
market conditions with (and this is the most important factor) very low numbers
of properties on the market.
Many Buy to Let landlords know
that investing in the Milton Keynes property market is a long-term strategy of
10, 20 even 30 years. Governments come and go, but unless Milton Keynes Council
start to build hundreds of new properties a year to make up for the shocking lack
of supply, Milton Keynes people will always want a roof over their head, and
irrespective of which party is in power, if there aren’t any council houses and
they can’t (or are unable to buy), a demand for rental properties will always
remain.
As my existing Milton Keynes landlord clients will testify, whether you
manage your property yourself, or another Milton Keynes agent manages your
properties, everyone is always made to feel welcome when they pop in for a
coffee at our offices in Milton Keynes to discuss anything to do with the Milton
Keynes property market, how Milton Keynes compares with its closest rival towns.
I don’t bite, I don’t do hard sell, I will just give you my honest and straight
talking opinion. However, if you are too busy to pop into town, you could
always visit the Milton Keynes Property Blog for advice, intelligent
commentary and analysis of the Milton Keynes Property market.
