Shropshire properties 'flying out the door', says estate agent
Houses are selling faster in the West Midlands - including Shropshire - than anywhere in England outside Greater London.
One Shropshire estate agent says properties were "flying out the door", boosted by the Government's stamp duty holiday.
Property website Rightmove said the region had seen asking prices rise at the fastest rate in the UK in the last year and is proving to be one of the driving forces of the UK market since lockdown.
The website said it had seen its busiest month for sales in a decade – up 20 per cent on the previous high to more than £37 billion – as sellers focused on property rather than holidays after the housing market got back on track.
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Over the last 12 months the region's house prices are up 6.3 per cent to a record £243,260 and between July and last month the rise was 1.4 per cent.
Scotland saw houses selling quickest at 53 days, while the average time for a house to sell in the West Midlands stands at 58 days – just one day behind Greater London.
Will Walker-Evans, of Nick Tart estate agents, which has branches in Bridgnorth, Ironbridge and Much Wenlock, said the figures fully reflected his experiences of recent weeks.
He said Telford was performing strongly, with the market doing particularly well for first-time buyers.
"It's really buoyant at the moment, there's plenty of buyers out there," said Mr Walker-Evans.
Incentive
"I think the stamp duty incentive is driving the market, I think a lot of people are looking to buy properties before that ends in March.
"I would say the built-up areas are doing well, places like Priorslee, but it depends a lot on the type of property.
"Anything up to £200,000-£250,000 does well, the first-time buyer market is doing well now that 90 per cent mortgages are back.
"The generic properties, things like three-bedroom properties, are flying out the doors," he added.
Caroline Eaton, of Eaton Berriman which has an office in Bridgnorth, said there had been a notable increase in the number of people looking to relocate from the Black Country to Shropshire.
She said the number of inquiries from the company's website had increased by 60 per cent over the past 12 months – the highest figure since the website was launched – and that sales were up by 40 per cent over that time.
"Demand is very much coming from the Black Country," said Mrs Eaton.
"For sales at our Bridgnorth office, more than half are coming from people from outside the area."
She said there had also been a notable change in the type of properties people were looking for since the lockdown.
Gardens
"Large gardens are viewed favourably again, they had been out of fashion for a while, people had been looking for low-maintenance gardens.
"But as more people are working from home, they are looking for proper gardens again.
"Shropshire is popular because it is a bit quieter, but it is still commutable."
She said two properties in Claverley had recently sold for more than their asking price.
Commercial properties are also doing well, according to Toby Shaw of Towler Shaw Roberts, which has properties in Shrewsbury and Telford.
"I wouldn't say it's been record breaking, but we have been extremely busy," he said.
"The retail market is proving challenging, but there are still deals to be done, particularly at the lower-to-middle end of the market.
"The industrial and office market is quite strong."
The region has become one of the regional powerhouses of the UK property market, showing consistent growth and home to the highest asking price outside of London and the South.
The last month has seen the highest number of properties coming to market in a month since March 2008 and the latest weekly sales agreed figure is up by 60 per cent compared to the same week in 2019 as buyers ignore the usual summer holiday slowdown.
The record levels of buyer activity have led to processing delays and it means that patience is required to get sales agreed to completion.
Across Britain, the average asking price on a home in August now stands at £319,497 – edging down slightly by 0.2 per cent or £768 from £320,265 in July, which had been a record high.
