There is Apathy in the Derby Property market..

A state of indifference has hit the Derby housing market as sellers await the outcome of the general election and stricter mortgage regulation suppresses buyer demand. Now, I have contacted both the BBC and ITV to see if I can get spot on the live TV election debates and give all parties a bit of advice regarding the Private Rental Sector. As yet, I have not had a response…

This feeling of apathy is mirrored around the UK as Rightmove reported the number of homes registered for sale per estate agent fell to its lowest level for five years in December, with available stock 10 per cent lower than in the same month a year earlier.

Looking at Derby, in the summer of 2014, each estate agent in Derby had on average 44 properties on its books (as there were a total of 2,289 properties up for sale in Derby at the peak in the Summer of 2014). Our research shows that number has plummeted to 38 per agent in December and looking at first three weeks of January, this number will lower by the month’s end.  While the lack of new properties coming onto the market in the later months of 2014 in Derby pushed asking prices up slightly from November to December, traditionally a quiet season for the housing market, property sellers will need to work hard in 2015 to complete a sale.

The length of time a property takes to sell has increased over the last few months. Two bedroom properties in Derby are now taking 86 days to sell, three bedroom 94 days, four bedrooms 92 days, but here an interesting figure, one beds are taking on average 169 days to find a buyer.

2015 will be the year of the selective mover. With only 986 brand new properties a year being built in Derby since the turn of the Millennium, this woefully low and insufficient number of new buildings in the City over the past few decades and a systemic change in the type of properties homeowners want (with families splitting etc so we have too many larger houses and not enough smaller ones), buyers are becoming dissatisfied with, and therefore dismissive of what is up for sale.

In my opinion, the heat has gone out of the Derby property market and I anticipate a moderate reduction from the high transaction volumes seen in 2014. That might mean Derby landlords could bag a bargain during this period of uncertainty, especially if the financial markets do not like the election outcome. Markets and buyers do not like uncertainty, but savvy buy-to-let landlords know that property investment is a long term game, and irrespective of short term apathy, a reduction in the quality and quantity of stock for homeowners to buy or the election, if people don’t buy property, they rent.

Derby City Council aren’t building anymore properties, the council house waiting list is decades, not years for the better type of property.. the only other way to get a roof over your head is to rent a property!  Good old Bricks and Mortar!

Therefore, if you are considering buying a property for investment in the near future, as I don't sell property, I am always happy to give you my considered opinion on which property to buy (or not as the case may be) to give you what you want from your investment.