Sidcup Property Market Update Summer 2019

The foundations of the Sidcup Property Market over the summer have continued to be principally sound, yet the existing political macroclimate means that the critical element of consumer confidence has been reduced and that is triggering some potential Sidcup property buyers and Sidcup house sellers to falter slightly and hang fire-making any firm decisions on property.

With record low interest rates at 0.75%, low unemployment rates of 3.8%, and decent mortgage availability (even those with low deposits - there were 224 mortgage deals available on the day of writing this article where only a 5% deposit was required and 5 mainstream lenders that would offer 100% no deposit mortgages), Sidcup buyers have a lot going in their favour, aside from the perceived political uncertainty.

Interestingly, Rightmove have stated there are more properties for sale today in the Country, than at any time since 2016, and Sidcup follows that trend. Even with that in mind, property values have remained reasonably stable as The Land Registry has just released its House Price Index for Sidcup and the surrounding locality and it makes very interesting reading.

Overall, property values in the Sidcup area are 0.2% lower

then a year ago as the average property value in Sidcup now stands at £406,600.

When I looked at the types of Sidcup properties, a slightly different picture appeared...

• Sidcup Detached homes rose by 0.5%
• Sidcup Semi-detached homes rose by 1%
• Sidcup Terraced/Town-House rose by 0.3%
• Sidcup Flats/Apartments dropped by 2.2%

and splitting down the types of Sidcup into property types...

• Sidcup Detached £677,500
• Sidcup Semi-Detached £471,200
• Sidcup Terraced/Town-House £358,900
• Sidcup Flats/Apartments £246,300

Yet, Sidcup Property Market Blog readers will know I always like to measure the health of the Sidcup property market not only by house prices but transaction levels as well...

613 properties were sold in the last year in Sidcup,

lower than the 10-year average of 746 properties per annum

Considering the uncertainty the country has been through in the last three years with the ‘B’ word issue, I don’t think that’s too bad and shows the underlying resilience of the Sidcup property market.

Now looking forward towards the end of the year .. how will Sidcup house values change under the new Prime Minister?

Sidcup buy-to-let landlords and Sidcup first-time buyers seem to be sustaining their preceding activity levels, which is heartening news. It’s quite conceivable that both cohorts are presently profiting from the marginally increased numbers of Sidcup homes on the market, which not only offers them greater choice but aids with their negotiations. The suggested Stamp Duty changes made me look at previous Stamp Duty changes in the last decade and their effects have been rather a short term.

That means those selling their homes in Sidcup need to be realistic with their pricing, and, as most sellers also buy a property, what you might lose on your sale you will make up on the purchase.

BoJo, Brexit … to be honest are all short-term distractions from the long-term issues of the UK and Sidcup property market. Until we start building at least 300,000 properties a year to meet the demand for UK property, demand will always outstrip supply, meaning irrespective of short-term fluctuations that may (or may not) be caused by domestic and world events (including the ‘B’ word’), prices will always in the medium to long term remain stable and increase.