“How's the Northampton housing market doing?” asked an
upbeat Northampton landlord last week.
“Quite strange” I replied. Our landlord was perplexed! Let me explain…
Even the Brexit vote has not hindered Northampton’s steady
rise in property value, as Northampton property values went up 1.94% last month
alone, leaving Northampton values 12.09% higher than a year ago. An increase in
demand from buyers and an uninspiring level of supply (i.e. the number of
properties on the market) has driven up the value of the Northampton’s housing.
... And that is where the issue is. With Brexit, the
coalition of the 2010-15, double dip recession and post credit crunch fallout –
I was perplexed that the Northampton property market (and values) has remained
so strong, still 20.1% higher than 20 months ago. That is until you start to
look into the real reasons
why we find ourselves in such a great place.
The Northampton (and the UK) housing
market is built on the foundations of basic economic rules that any GCSE
Economics student should understand. However, at a time when, as a country, we
seem eager to uncouple ourselves from all manner of proven facts, anything is
up for grabs.
Even the wary RICS said throughout the UK, most of its
Chartered Surveyors anticipated house prices to increase in the next six months
which seems contradictory given economic cautions from Mr Hammond and the HM
Treasury. Even though inflation will rise to around 2% to 3% in 2017 and
perhaps a little more in 2018 because of Sterling’s devaluation, together with a
high probability of a decelerating GDP and a slight rise in unemployment, how
can the RICS and most of my landlords be so confident about the value of our homes?
Well, look where we are starting from. Nationally, a base of low unemployment, low inflation and
preposterously low-interest rates, while in Northampton, the local economy is
doing quite well for itself. Confidence also plays a part. Confidence can supersede basic
economic facts for a short time at least, which is why actual property market
changes tend to be more exaggerated, as confidence can turn both positive and
negative very quickly. The fact is, there is a long-term relationship
between property values, wages and unemployment.
By
April 2017, Article 50 will be invoked. This will bring additional political tomfooleries and economic
ups and downs. With both purchasers and vendors predisposed by the 24 hour news
cycle, which let’s face it, gets more haphazard by the day, it is likely to
prove a challenging couple of years and yes, Northampton property values might
drop slightly in 2017, but based on what we know of the UK plc now, the UK and Northampton
property values are not projected to move that much over 2017 or
2018. Going into the next two years, we
are in much better financial shape as a country compared to the last two crashes
of 1987 and 2008.