Dorset house prices dip, but Bournemouth continues to rise!

According to the Land Registry House Price Index, February saw a stutter in the overall property market. The UK as a whole dropped 0.2% in the month of February despite the increase in demand from private landlords looking to complete purchases before the Stamp Duty increase took effect. Despite the strong demand and historic price jumps month on month, even Dorset stumbled with a -0.1% drop in prices.

The South in particular, along with London, has seen huge increases in property prices over the last few years. So it’s interesting to see some areas dropped in value despite the increased demand to buy at the start of the year from property investors. But despite the average property price dropping in Dorset as a whole, Bournemouth has certainly continued strong, growing in value for another consecutive month at +0.5%

This brings the average price of property in Bournemouth to £195,185. Although not quite as high as the 2.9% growth in January, Bournemouth is continuing to grow at a steady rate. Over the last 12 months, the average price of a property has grown by 7.2% and is in line to exceed £200k within the next 3 months.

Other large nearby towns have also seen steady increases in values. Poole’s average property price also grew 0.5% in the month to £238,566, Southampton grew 0.3% to £161,337, and Portsmouth at 0.6% with average prices reaching £167,388.

Data for March will be released on the 28^th April and that will be interesting to see how the property price reacts to the final month before the Stamp Duty changes. Preliminary data shows a further increase in sales volumes along with another increase in values across the South. As we currently stand, property prices in Bournemouth are on track to exceed 10% for the year, well in excess of the 6%-7% predicted before the start of the year. This is positive news for property investors in Bournemouth, showing a positive return despite the additional taxes payable on purchase. 

The Bournemouth property market continues to remain a strong investment option. If you would like to discuss this article or any others why not send an email to luke.marchbanks@belvoir.co.uk or give me a call on 07979123970 for a free, honest, independent chat.

All the best

Luke

(Please note that some figures in this article are different to figures stated in previous articles. This is because I am now using the Land Registry data opposed to mortgage lending data to give a more accurate picture of the market. The Land Registry data ‘pairs’ data so that property prices are compared on a like-for-like basis).