Lancaster & Morecambe 01524 843322
Posted on Monday, January 1, 2024
2023 saw a cautious start. The economists were full of doom and gloom, many predicting that housing prices would crash. Even the Halifax Bank said prices would drop by up to 8% After all, interest rates were rising and the cost of living was taking hold. Yet if you look back at our 2022 round-up, we were full of optimism, knowing buyer demand was still there.
On the face of it, 2023 has been largely uneventful in the property market. Locally, prices have remained stable. The housing market hasn’t been flooded with properties and certainly in Lancaster buyer demand has remained strong. The Morecambe market has slowed yet sensibly priced homes are still selling well. Morecambe is the market to watch in 2024, especially if the Eden Project build gets an official start date!
At JDG we like to look at the market at a local level, so you can have a better understanding of what is really happening locally. Here are your property facts.
It’s interesting isn’t it, looking back at the number of new instructions over the years, In Lancaster the market is quite stable with the number of people looking to move on an annual basis hardly changing, however in Morecambe it has grown considerably over the past few years. The number of new properties coming to the market grew in Morecambe by almost 7%. In Lancaster, it largely remained the same.
Despite there being just 3 miles between the city and the seaside town, the demographics of the two areas are very different, hence they perform differently. In Morecambe, 51.4% of the residents are aged 55 plus. In Lancaster, this is just 24.5% of the population.
Across the UK, it is no secret that property prices have dipped by an average of 1.2%. However, Lancaster and Morecambe have performed differently.
At first glance, it is easy to presume that Lancaster’s prices have suffered in the last 12 months. If you compare purely on an average price achieved, they are showing a dip of 2%. However look closer at what is selling, and the price achieved per sqft in Lancaster is 2.4% higher than it was 12 months ago.
Over in Morecambe, we may have seen a crazy level of price reductions, however, the average sales price achieved is 1.5% higher than it was 12 months ago. If we take the average price per sqft achieved which is a more accurate way of looking at prices, they still were 0.9% higher.
Buyer demand remained strong in 2023 and whilst the level of sales fell back, the northwest performed better than the south in terms of buyer activity. People still want to move.
Sales dropped back by just 6% in Lancaster and 11% in Morecambe. We mustn’t compare too much to 2021 as this was a crazy year in the housing market fuelled by pent-up demand and stamp duty savings!
Where were the most expensive property sales?
The 3 most expensive homes to sell in 2023 are as follows.
In total, there were just 17 sales above £500,000 across Lancaster and Morecambe. In 2022 there were 36. This shows how the market has changed at the higher end of the market and it is also a reason why the average sale price in Lancaster is lower than last year.
March 2023
The Help to Buy Equity Loan Scheme for first-time buyers officially came to an end.
May 2023
The government published the renter's reform bill in May 2023, to fundamentally reform the private rented sector and improve housing quality.
September 2023
The government makes a U-turn on EPC reforms. The Government scraps proposed new Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) regulations.
Mortgage rates showed the first signs of falling marginally after the Bank of England held the base rate for the first time of 14 consecutive increases.
October 2023
The Renters Reform Bill progressed to a 2nd reading. A key point was that the government announced they wouldn't abolish Section 21 notices without justice system reforms.
November 2023
New regulations called Material Information Parts B and C by the National Trading Standards Estate and Lettings Team (NTSELAT) were introduced. In a nutshell, this requires estate and letting agents to provide all relevant information about the properties they are listing, enabling potential tenants or buyers to make informed decisions.
December 2023
Economists once again make their predictions regarding property prices in 2024. The Nationwide predict property prices will remain broadly flat. Rightmove predicts that by the end of 2024, they could be 1% lower.
In 2023 there were 2734 new instructions across Lancaster Morecambe (LA1, LA3 and LA4). In total 1582 homes went under. This equates to just 58% of all homes. In 2022 it was 65%, in 2021 it was 88%. This clearly shows how the housing market is becoming more competitive and is something that all home sellers need to be aware of. In the year 1374 properties reduced their asking price - this equates to 50% of all properties.
The outlook for 2024 is looking positive, Interest rates are predicted to drop and inflation is lower. The cost of living is still affecting many though and we must be aware of this. Demand is still high. We already have over 20 viewings booked in the diary for the first week in January. In the final few days of 2023, we have received 5 new offers.
At JDG we are looking forward to the year ahead. We ranked again in the top 1.8% of all estate agents in the UK which makes us well positioned for the year ahead. We also have exciting plans, and fresh new ideas and are already embracing AI which looks set to bring changes into the property world in 2024 which will benefit our clients. It’s all very exciting!
Whilst 56 estate agents were involved with the 1582 property sales, we are proud that 15.9% of home movers trusted our agency with their sales in 2023. We are also proud not just to be the biggest selling agent in the area but to have won more awards for our high levels of personal service and exceptional marketing. At JDG, we have always believed in doing things differently, and now we have proof that our approach works!"
If you are planning to move home in 2024 or if you are a landlord with a property to let, please don't hesitate to contact us at JDG. We are always ready to assist you with our services. Remember, we are here to help!
Thank you for taking the time to read our year in review and we wish you a wonderful new year!
Michelle x
Ps. If you're interested in keeping up with what's selling in 2024, check out our Facebook page. We believe in transparency, so we post sales updates as they happen.
PPS. We research the market heavily and share our market insights with our clients and online. We are well-known as the home of property data for Lancaster and Morecambe, with thousands of people across the area reading out monthly updates. If would like this report emailed to you, please just let us know!
