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AS WE prepare to say goodbye to 2016 and look forward to 2017 it may come as a shock to discover that every region in England and Wales now has a £1million street.
Sandbanks in Dorset, Cheshire’s Wilmslow and Altrincham and Yorkshire’s “Golden Triangle” between Harrogate, York and Leeds have had expensive enclaves for years but Lloyds Bank has now named streets in Llandudno, Swansea and even Leicester.
In the West Midlands, Edgbaston’s Farquhar Road (£1,434,000) and Ladywood Road in Sutton Coldfield (£1,302,000) are the two priciest addresses while in Wales Llys Helyg Drive in Llandudno takes the top spot with an average price of £1,064,000 followed by St Annes Close in Swansea at £1,029,000.
Ling Lane in Leeds has some of the most expensive homes in Yorkshire and the Humber at an average £1,319,000 while Warren Hill in Newtown Linford, Leicester, is the most expensive street in the East Midlands with an average price of £1,288,000.
So will property prices continue to rise during 2017?
The sterling devaluation has made UK property very attractive for international investors
The uncertainties over Brexit, the additional stamp duty on second homes and reduction in tax relief for landlords have led to cautious predictions.
According to Savills (savills.co.uk) average UK house prices are expected to remain stagnant in 2017 before rising by 2 per cent in 2018 and 5.5 per cent in 2019 – possibly making 2017 a good year to buy.
Mark Ridley, chief executive officer of Savills UK and Europe, says property remains a safe investment but adds: “The sterling devaluation has made UK property very attractive for international investors pegged to the US dollar or euro, with 2017 activity in central London likely to be dominated by Asian investors, with American and pan-European investors also strong nationally.”
Experts from Nationwide, Knight Frank, online estate agent eMoov and several more contributed to the Reuters Housing Market Poll for December 2016, which predicts a 2 per cent average price growth in 2017 compared with 2016’s 4.7 per cent rise.
But Russell Quirk, founder of eMoov (emoov.co.uk), says: “I think the outlook for 2017 is far more optimistic than a 2 per cent increase. The market is in good condition heading into the New Year and prices could grow by as much as 4 per cent next year.”
And Stuart Law, chairman of buy-to-let estate agency Assetz Property (assetz.co.uk), says: “UK house prices will grow by 3 per cent in 2017.”
He adds: “This will be driven by healthy growth in the towns and cities outside the M25 where investors can get better long-term yields for a sensible price point and this will counter growing weakness in the London market.”
Reuters’ predictions for London suggest a decrease in prices of 0.5 per cent in 2017, recovering by 2 per cent in 2018. But eMoov’s Quirk predicts London prices could fall by “as much as 4 per cent in 2017”.
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Stuart Law says: “Official statistics show signs of house price growth turning negative in some of the capital’s most desirable boroughs and this trend is likely to continue.”
He puts this down to “unsustainably high prices” and increases in stamp duty. But most agree that Northern Powerhouse cities such as Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds and also Birmingham will continue to see growth, as will more affordable outer-London areas.
Much of this could be in buy-to-let properties. “Canny investors recognise that the north, not London, is where the best yields can be found,” says Law.
“I expect we will see overall growth of rents of 4 per cent in 2017 as landlords seek to cover the impact of the new mortgage interest tax and capitalise on some potential reduction in the size of the rental property market.
“This year saw buy-to-let investors begin to sell up in London and this could grow to a rush in 2017. But rather than leave buy-to-let we expect them to reduce mortgage debt and buy more for cash or with smaller mortgages in higher-yielding locations around the country such as Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham.
“London investors have been hounded out by a combination of low yields and the curbs to mortgage interest tax relief, or ‘tenant tax’ as I call it, as we expect it to be passed on in rent rises. The lesson in 2017 that people must learn is that buy-to-let isn’t dead – it has just gone north.”