A slowdown in property sales? Yet house prices are likely to rise again.

Property values in Solihull fell by 1.7% in March. This follows several months of sluggish activity in the property market in the run up to the Election, putting the average price of a property in Solihull at £316,600, 4.5% higher than in March 2014. Despite the not so insignificant fall in March, the figures showed property values in Solihull were still higher in the first quarter of 2015 than in the last quarter of 2014.

Interestingly, the Council of Mortgage Lenders and Estate Agent trade bodies over the last few months have reported seeing a fall in mortgage lending and enquiries from prospective homebuyers. This is important because it comes amid an overall fall in housing market activity. Data from the Land Registry said completed house sales in Solihull in the three months to January 2015, (the most up-to-date figures available) fell by 25.51% compared to the same three month period up to January 2014 (a whole quarter!).

However, I believe that the slowdown in property sales in Solihull is supporting property values, as there is a shortage of houses coming onto the market. Even though in the whole of the first quarter of 2015, property value increases may seem subdued when compared to 2014, let us remember, property values are still rising well above the level of inflation. 

As I have said many times before, the population in Solihull is growing at a much higher rate than the number of properties being built. This increasing demand for a roof over people’s head, which is outpacing the supply of new houses being built in Solihull, is creating a severe imbalance in the housing market, thus making homeownership an ever increasingly distant dream for many potential first time buyers.

In fact, I still maintain the view that house prices are likely to rise by around 3 to 5% in Solihull in 2015, even after taking into account this blip at the start of the year. The reason being is that the rise reflects both strong economic conditions and steady market conditions with (and this is the most important factor) very low numbers of properties on the market. 

Many Buy to Let landlords know that investing in the Solihull property market is a long-term strategy of 10, 20 even 30 years. Governments come and go, but unless Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council start to build hundreds of new properties a year to make up for the shocking lack of supply, Solihull people will always want a roof over their head, and irrespective of which party is in power, if there aren’t any council houses, a demand for rental properties will always remain.

As my existing landlord clients will testify, whether you manage your property yourself, or another agent manages your properties, everyone is always made to feel welcome when they pop in for a coffee at our offices on Solihull high street to discuss anything to do with the property market and how Solihull compares with its closest rival towns. I don’t bite, I don’t do hard sell, I will just give you my honest and straight talking opinion. However, if you are too busy to pop into town, you could always visit my Property Blog www.solihullpropertyblog.com for advice, intelligent commentary and analysis of the Solihull Property market.