What really happened in the Lancaster Housing Market in June 2019?

Property sales in LA1 are up month on month by 24%,  year on year by 7.5%.   This monthly jump is not unusual.  We are an academic city and this time of year is when many academics look to move, ready for new employment positions in September.  What is encouraging is the increase in sales year on year.

Lancaster’s problem now is the lack of new properties coming to the market.   Just 103 new homes came available for sale.  This is a 22% drop from June 2018.   To put things into perspective, only 3 traditional semi-detached homes in South Lancaster under £200,000 came available for sale in June.

We’ve taken a close look at what has happened this month and broken it down for you.

How many houses sold in in LA1 in June 2019?

In June 2019, 95 properties went under offer.  This was 18 more than the previous month and an increase of 7 sales year on year.   This is very encouraging for the local housing market as it showing there is still healthy demand from people wanting to buy in the area.

Junes sold breakdown

upto £125,000            29 properties

£125,001 - £250,000  52 properties

£250,000 - £500,000  14 properties

£500,000 plus             1 property

What is happening in the higher end market?

The higher end market is still tough.  Only 1 sale was agreed above £500,000, which gives a total of just 4 property sales above £500,000 so far this year.  We are now halfway through the year. 

In the year there have been just 31 sales in the price region of £300,000 and above. 

What is happening in the lower end market?

There is a lot to choose from at the lower end of the market.  In June there were 203 properties listed for sale.  Only 29 of these actually found buyers.   Many first time buyers are looking at slightly higher priced properties or taking advantage of the various help to buy schemes.   The number of new landlords buying for investment as decreased, hence these homes now need to become competitively priced to attract those looking.   There is more supply than demand. 

What type of property sold?

Terrace homes are always Lancaster’s most popular selling home,  however, the most in-demand home at the moment is the semi-detached property - in particular in South Lancaster and Scale Hall.  

Sales by house type

Detached            7

Semi-detached  28

Terraces             42

Flats                    11

Bungalows          4

Sales by postcode

LA1 1              13 sales

La1 2               14 sales

LA1 3               20 sales

LA1 4               34 sales

LA1 5               15 sales

This month 17 different estate agents accounted for the  95 property sales in Lancaster.   At JDG we sold 22.9% of these homes and in the semi-detached market, we sold over a 1/3 of all the properties. 

Whilst sales held strong in LA1, the number of house hunters looking online also dropped to just an average of 40.6 online views a day.  It is a proven fact, hot weather means people spend less time online, preferring to enjoy time outdoors basking in the sun and enjoying a BBQ.

This months report is good but still, be aware of over-optimistic estate agents.   There are currently 423 properties for sale in LA1.   Whilst many homes are selling quickly,  there are still many languishing on the market.   128 houses have been for sale in Lancaster now for over 6 months.  

If you are thinking of moving, please call us.   Our home consultations are free. Our results are proven and most importantly we are still achieving some great results for our clients.

Call us on 01524 843322 or why not drop me an email at michelle@jdg.co.uk

Ps. Why not try out our handy online valuation tool? It is not as accurate as having us around but in under 60 seconds, you could have a good indication as to what your home may be worth. Why not give it a try?

https://valuation.jdg.co.uk/home/800-jd-gallagher