In 2020, despite the pandemic delivering devastating effects on some of the towns businesses, such as hospitality and beauty services, the housing market would appear to be thriving! At the time of writing, according to Rightmove UK, house prices in Lytham St Anne’s have seen an increase of a whopping 13% in the last 12 months compared with the static prices seen in the neighbouring towns of Blackpool and Preston over the same period.
The Government announced a stamp duty break for properties below £500,000 in June 2020, in a bid to re-energise the property market which was hit hard when Coronavirus struck and lockdown completely closed the industry. Yesterday it was announced that this will continue until the end of June with further tapering thereafter until October 2021 – a very welcome 6 month extension to the initial plan. This announcement along with the re-introduction of 95% mortgages could see local house prices soar even further as demand continues to severely outstrip the supply of properties available for sale in the area.
Local independent mortgage broker, Amanda Robinson, of Fylde Mortgages and Protection said, ‘Since the stamp duty relief was announced by the Government in June 2020, home mover enquiries have massively increased. Not only has the number of people moving soared, but house prices seem to have followed a similar trend with people achieving prices far in excess of what they would have expected to achieve a year ago. Many of my buyers are experiencing bidding wars! There just doesn’t seem to be enough properties coming to market to meet the demands of the number of buyers ready and waiting! This being extended yesterday along with the reintroduction of 95% mortgages in April is a massive boost for the local economy and I expect the upward trend to continue for the rest of this year at least. Lockdown has made people reassess their priorities and has certainly caused people to realise the importance of ‘home’ and perhaps not surprisingly, more young buyers are receiving parental help to enable them to fly the nest! It’s all very exciting news for Lytham St Anne’s!’
Nicola Asquith from Dunderdale Asquith Estate Agents commented, ‘Despite the pandemic the housing market in Lytham St. Anne’s is extremely active. With the recent announcement from the Chancellor that the stamp duty holiday is going to be extended to June there are a large number of buyers searching for properties at the moment. Prices over the last 12 months have increased fuelled by a shortage of properties coming to market in the area and a large number of buyers actively looking to buy. Now is the ideal time to think about selling with the stamp duty holiday being extended and smaller deposits now required for mortgages. Anyone thinking of selling or just wanting more information can contact us for a free of charge valuation on 01253 796466.’
Let us know your thoughts…. can the current level of growth continue?
