As per Catflap's suggestion, I thought it would be easier to keep at least last year's figures for reference here, so that it's easier to compare. I also plan to put up the monthly averages here, so we can compare like for like over the year.


2007 Data:

Monthly Averages (all percentages)

Date__< 120K__120 - 160 k__160 - 250k__New__New Price__No chain__< 250k
Jan_____3.9______17.8________52.67___24.54___3.08______13.76____74.43
Feb ____3.4______17.69_______52.89___25.97___5.03______15.1_____74.05
Mar____3.04_____18.07_______52.6_____25_____6.44______14.45____73.7
Apr____2.98_____16.29_______49.18____28.08___6.92______15.33____68.45
May____3.26_____16.78_______49.58____31.19___6.2_______15.41____69.61
June____4.16_____17.84______49.48_____24.72____9_______16.96____71.48
July_____4.94_____17.52______49.7______22.08__9.88______18.16____72.16
Aug_____5.86_____17.62______51.46_____23.04__11.14_____16.46____74.94
Sept ____4.84_____18.83______52.08_____22.17___12.02____18.01____75.75
Oct_____5.91______20________50.18_____19.84____17.82____17.04___76.09
Nov_____4.67_____16.5_______47.44_____16.5_____9.64_____18.54___68.61
Dec _____7.07_____21.93______48.58_____17.84____8.06____15.25___77.57


Annual Average:

Annual___4.52______18.23_____50.69_____23.78____9.34____16.22____73.44

(The annual averages are slightly different to that posted on the long thread, as I was being blonde and missed off a week in December...)

The HIPs debacle in May changed matters quite significantly - particularly the influx of "New" houses coming onto the market, and then a distinct upturn in the number of new price labels in the months after.

Edit to try and make all the figures go in nice neat lines as I thought they would have anyway, apologies for the lines, but the tab button ne marche pas.

Good work - keep it up. I must admit I'm very surprised that the EDP property sup is still 105 pages. Is it my imagination or are there more "quality" properties and holiday homes coming onto the market? The well off bailing out? Last time local property crashed one of the factors was the sudden absence of the "London buyer", could this be happening again?

Bob - Interesting thoughts - maybe better posted on the long Norwich thread to get more response. I use the Norwich Evening News supplement for my tally, so miss out on a lot of the holiday homes - the only ones that routinely advertise are Keys - they cover Cromer/Sheringham way and there's another lot that advertise about every other week or so from Gt Yarmouth etc, (don't see many north Norfolk properties at all in the paper) and yes, the properties round there are really sticking. Some are way overpriced (the obvious holiday ones), and others seem a bargain in comparison - although, that's just my perception, I don't know the market well enough out that way to really be able to comment!

As for the more quality homes - TOPS prestige section has increased it's number of houses recently (used to just be 9 on a double page spread, now it's 22), so yes, although their idea of prestige has gone down a little too

Excellent work W&S - it's all going the right way and these figures do tell the story. There is a bigger percentage of properties for sale each month in the 'under £120k' bracket and '£120k to £160k' bracket each month - the trend is up, whilst there is a gradual fall in the number of properties in the '£160k to £250k' bracket - the trend is down.

If you plotted the data you have now you would have a trend line which would give an idea where we will be in 1 years time. What amazes me is the percentage of 'No chain' properties at 16.22% - that's 1 in every 6 properties on the market which seems high. There's also a bigger percentage of sellers having to reduce the price now compared to the first few months of last year before the market had peaked.

I'll just put the monthly averages in, together with last years averages for the same month, and last year's overall averages, so it's easy to compare and contrast:


__________<120k___120-160k__160-250k__New__New Price__No Chain___<£250k
Jan '08 Ave__6.64____26.01______45.78___19.87___12.1______19.64______78.43
Jan '07 Ave__3.9_____17.8_______52.67___24.54___3.08______13.76______74.43
2007 Ave___4.52____18.23_______50.69___23.78___9.34______16.22_____73.44

I'll let the numbers speak for themselves

It's the end of February, so another monthly average post:

__________<120k___120-160k__160-250k__New__New Price__No Chain___<£250k
Feb '08 Ave__5.82____25.63_______46.56___18.14___11.32_____19.58_____78.06
Feb '07 Ave__3.48____17.69_______52.89___25.97___5.03______15.10_____74.05
2007 Ave____4.52____18.23_______50.69___23.78___9.34______16.22_____73.44

I had been wondering if the January 08 figures were a bit skew whiff due to the sort of houses that were for sale over the low point - I was wondering if larger houses would be taken off the market and put back on mid-late Feb for the fabled "spring bounce", but actually the new to the market figures are down this year in comparison to last, and the other figures aren't hideously out of kilter with last months results.

Great work W&S - it's amazing that 20% of all properties are chain free and promising that the percentage of £120k to £160k properties is getting bigger. Also the percentage of new properties has fallen which shows how stagnant the market is.

Just had a go at re-doing the tables to see if I can make it better - I won't know if it's going to come out right until I press 'Add Reply'...... looks OK at the moment but could look awful when posted



Monthly Averages 2007 (all percentages)

Date ......... > £120k .... £120-160k ... £160-250k ..... New ........ New Price ... No chain .... < £250k

Jan '07 .......... 3.90 .......... 17.80 .......... 52.67 .......... 24.54 .......... 3.08 .......... 13.76 .......... 74.43
Feb '07 .......... 3.40 .......... 17.69 .......... 52.89 .......... 25.97 .......... 5.03 .......... 15.10 .......... 74.05
Mar '07 .......... 3.04 .......... 18.07 .......... 52.60 .......... 25.00 .......... 6.44 .......... 14.45 .......... 73.70
Apr '07 .......... 2.98 .......... 16.29 .......... 49.18 .......... 28.08 .......... 6.92 .......... 15.33 .......... 68.45
May '07 ......... 3.26 .......... 16.78 .......... 49.58 .......... 31.19 .......... 6.20 .......... 15.41 .......... 69.61
Jun '07 .......... 4.16 .......... 17.84 .......... 49.48 .......... 24.72 .......... 9.00 .......... 16.96 .......... 71.48
Jul '07 ........... 4.94 .......... 17.52 .......... 49.70 .......... 22.08 .......... 9.88 .......... 18.16 .......... 72.16
Aug '07 ......... 5.86 .......... 17.62 .......... 51.46 .......... 23.04 ......... 11.14 ......... 16.46 .......... 74.94
Sep '07 ......... 4.84 .......... 18.83 .......... 52.08 .......... 22.17 ......... 12.02 ......... 18.01 .......... 75.75
Oct '07 .......... 5.91 .......... 20.00 .......... 50.18 .......... 19.84 ......... 17.82 ......... 17.04 .......... 76.09
Nov '07 ......... 4.67 .......... 16.50 .......... 47.44 .......... 16.50 .......... 9.64 .......... 18.54 .......... 68.61
Dec '07 ......... 7.07 .......... 21.93 .......... 48.58 .......... 17.84 .......... 8.06 .......... 15.25 .......... 77.57



Monthly Averages 2008 (all percentages)

Jan '08 .......... 6.64 .......... 26.01 .......... 45.78 .......... 19.87 .......... 12.10 .......... 19.64 .......... 78.43
Feb '08 .......... 5.82 .......... 25.63 .......... 46.56 .......... 18.14 .......... 11.32 .......... 19.58 .......... 78.06


The most boring job I've done in a long while - looks great on my screen but could look dodgy on yours

Perfect! Truly a posting of beauty! Thank you - hadn't thought to reduce the font size on the top row (presume that's what you did) - it takes forever to get it to look even half respectable - the first time I did it I spent ages, and it came out looking really pants, so had to do it all over again, then the ...'s didn't work out right for some reason (hence the crappy looking __'s), and it all got v. infuriating! So when it came to posting the last lot, I just cut and paste from the first data to save any hassle...

Will cut and paste your post as a template for next time!

OK, so attached are the monthly averages for March, and also, seeing as it's the end of a quarter, the annual average for the year so far (ie, the last 3 months, not a rolling average)

Monthly Averages 2008 and annual averages 2007 and 2008 so far (all percentages)

Date ......... > £120k .... £120-160k ... £160-250k ..... New ........ New Price ... No chain .... < £250k
Mar '07 .......... 3.04 .......... 18.07 .......... 52.60 .......... 25.00 .......... 6.44 .......... 14.45 .......... 73.70
Mar '08........... 7.57........... 24.38 .......... 45.88 .......... 18.93 ........ 14.55 .......... 21.92 .......... 77.82

Ave '07.......... 4.52 ........... 18.23 ......... 50.69 ............ 23.78 ........... 9.34 ......... 16.22 .......... 73.44
Ave Q1 '08..... 6.68 ............ 25.34 ......... 46.07 ........... 18.98 ........... 12.65 ........ 20.38 .......... 78.09

Things are shifting, but it would be nice to see an increase in the total number of properties under £250k - although presumably that is a psychological barrier for vendors as well as buyers - and a reluctance to budge to below that would be a large drop (as you have to put the price well over £250k to make it worth your while pricing it into that stamp duty bracket...). However, it's plainly a different market to last year. I'm just glad to see the numbers moving in the right direction (I would have been pretty upset having put all that work in for it not to be showing good news by now!)

Thanks again to Catflap, for neatening up the data format!

It's scary that the year is going this quickly, but it's the end of April, so another bout of property averages comes this way.

Date ......... > £120k .... £120-160k ... £160-250k ..... New ........ New Price ... No chain .... < £250k
Jan '08 .......... 6.64 .......... 26.01 .......... 45.78 .......... 19.87 .......... 12.10 .......... 19.64 .......... 78.43
Feb '08 .......... 5.82 .......... 25.63 .......... 46.56 .......... 18.14 .......... 11.32 .......... 19.58 .......... 78.06
Mar '08........... 7.57........... 24.38 .......... 45.88 .......... 18.93 ........ 14.55 ............ 21.92 .......... 77.82
Apr '08......... 7.96 .......... 24.93 ......... 47.56 ......... 22.99 ......... 16.8 .......... 20.95 ........ 80.44

Apr '07........... 2.98 .......... 16.29 .......... 49.18 .......... 28.08 ......... 6.92 ............. 15.33 .......... 68.45
Ave '07.......... 4.52 ........... 18.23 ......... 50.69 ............ 23.78 ........... 9.34 ......... 16.22 .......... 73.44
Ave Q1 '08..... 6.68 ............ 25.34 ......... 46.07 ........... 18.98 ........... 12.65 ........ 20.38 .......... 78.09

The difference in comparison to this time last year is quite striking...

Another month ends, it's amazing how quickly it's all moving - just since the start of the year. The main difference really is the size of the paper itself though - this week there were a similar number of properties to just before last Christmas - there are obviously increasing numbers of property on the market, but by the looks of it, the EAs just can't afford the advertising.

Date ......... > £120k .... £120-160k ... £160-250k ..... New ........ New Price ... No chain .... < £250k
Jan '08 .......... 6.64 .......... 26.01 .......... 45.78 .......... 19.87 .......... 12.10 .......... 19.64 .......... 78.43
Feb '08 .......... 5.82 .......... 25.63 .......... 46.56 .......... 18.14 .......... 11.32 .......... 19.58 .......... 78.06
Mar '08........... 7.57........... 24.38 .......... 45.88 .......... 18.93 ........ 14.55 ............ 21.92 .......... 77.82
Apr '08........... 7.96 .......... 24.93 ........... 47.56 .......... 22.99 ......... 16.8 ............ 20.95 .......... 80.44
May '08 ........10.5 ......... 26.64 ............ 44.53 ........ 19.93 ........ 21.44 ......... 20.49 .......... 81.67

May '07 ......... 3.26 ........... 16.78 ......... 49.58 ............ 31.19 .......... 6.2 ........... 15.41 .......... 69.61
Ave '07.......... 4.52 ........... 18.23 ......... 50.69 ............ 23.78 ........... 9.34 ......... 16.22 .......... 73.44
Ave Q1 '08..... 6.68 ............ 25.34 ......... 46.07 ........... 18.98 ........... 12.65 ........ 20.38 .......... 78.09

Thats what I like to see - more property in the sub £120k bracket.

Excellent work this the tables, w&s Bravo! I couldn't do that, I have the attention span of an insect.

I bought the Evening News today - I didn't notice any William H Brown advertisements.

Encouraging stats W&S - you do a great job thanks. Very useful to see comparisons with last year too.

Can't wait to see Rightmove's monthly house price report for May - no doubt another hefty rise in East Anglia shown again. I cant' imagine where the prices are allegedly rising - surely not Cambridge? - which if it gets any more expensive, will be catching up with Knightsbridge. (where I happened to look in an EA's window last Sunday and noticed you can now get a jolly decent 3 bed apartment for as little as a very reasonable 3.4m)

MattW - when the paper's only 24 pages long, you only need the attention span of an insect (i have the memory of a goldfish, maybe that helps a bit...)! It's strange to think that this time last year I was ploughing through 60+ pages at a time (it took a lot longer, I now have the routine worked out, and can spot the words "chain free" in an ad without really reading it...)

Chainfree - I have 16 houses that have risen in price since I started Property Bee- it's not many in the grand scheme of things, but the rises range from 1.1% to 11.9% (mainly newbuilds in the Costessey development and at Queen's Hills). I'm guessing it wouldn't take much for an over optimistic first price, followed a week or so later by a more realistic asking price to give the right (or wrong) impression of the housing market.

I sometimes wonder about the rightmove report - I believe it's based on the asking prices of those coming to the market - it's easy to keep this buoyant - reductions would only show up if properties were relisted when they came down in price.

I'd like RM to start an index of the average prices of all the properties they have on their "books" - can't be that difficult to sort out, and would provide a more accurate picture, as prices start to tumble.

Edit: A million pounds per bedroom sounds very reasonable to me, I'd also expect to pay a further half million for an allocated parking spot in the underground carpark please.

Also - Matt W - you're right, no Wm H B ads, apart from a few on the small ads/private sellers page towards the back. Howards and TOPS make up the bulk of the property advertised - if I had my house on the market, I know who'd I'd be going through...

Excellent, 10.5% now in the 'under £120k' bracket - that's only going to get bigger!. Good to see the 'under £250k' getting bigger as well but best of all is the 'New Price' - that's really gone up which shows that things are now speeding up along with the 2.5% drop in average UK house prices for May.

Estate agents must being getting pretty strapped for cash I would have thought - do you detect any filtering out of 'optimistically priced' property?. If I was an EA right now I would be cutting back but only trying to push the properties I know had a chance of selling - Rightmove is full of properties that were obviously valued in yesterdays market and have no chance of selling:

Hello?

Spot on. A modest little number which bears little relation to its asking price. Maybe they added 15k+ for that nice new bathroom. I particularly liked the demonstration of how, with some imaginative parking techniques, you can just about shoehorn a very small car, at a funny angle, just by the front door. Well done EA and seller.

Vendors - get real!

If they were really clever they could show how spacious it was for parking by getting a whole row of little smart cars parked up out there...

Yep - the fact that the under £120k bracket has more than trebled in volume in a year is very promising - I'm still a bit surprised that the overall volume of properties under £250k isn't larger, but patience is a virtue, and saving and falling prices combines makes for good options in the future.

It's getting difficult to tell whether the properties in the rag are a correct reflection of the properties that they have on their books - I don't necessarily think that it's only the cheaper ones that are in the paper, but certain EAs seem to be heading that way.

A true example is the change of prices in the TOPS "Prestige" collection - they used to be generally half million pound houses with the odd slightly cheaper one, now they're £300k ish, a few above, a few below - I think that's a marked change, and whether it's a response to the market conditions, or the advertising conditions (if that makes sense, I've had a couple of glasses...) it's difficult to tell. Maybe they have tonnes of very expensive houses that they don't put in the paper anymore, maybe all their expensive house vendors have been told to get real...

Abbotts don't seem to be changing the properties that they're advertising - they all still seem overpriced (although they didn't put a show in this weeks), the general Tops pages are definitely lower prices - but with that ridiculous price ranging thing going on, and Howards are trying to get prices down, but I think they've got a few obstinate vendors - like that one in Poringland - there's another in Brockdish that's been on for ages too. I have noticed a change in "billings" - an increase in "rare opportunity!", "first to view will buy" (a haart favourite - and also concerning when the house has blatantly been on the market for a while!) "priced to sell" and in the last month a definite increase in "viewing a must!", as well as the favourite "REALISTICALLY PRICED!". That one gets me every time - what a waste of space - they could have said how many cars could park instead of that!!Grrrrrrr!

Just had a quick scan of the latest Rightmove report. Overall, national prices UP by 1.2% during May. Seems to be largely due to increases in upper end properties and a general rise in the South East. East Anglia DOWN by 1.2%. So a reversal from last month. Report indicates continued mindset among vendors refusing to recognise the current market. I suspect also EAs trying desperately to make the "Spring Bounce" happen. I'm growing ever more sceptical of Rightmove - they are a big VI afterall.

You have to scoff at "first to view will buy" This is lifted straight out of the used car for sale small ads - "first to see will buy". Still - second hand car dealers are now generally viewed as being more trustworthy than EAs....
Haart are a goldmine of EA drivel:
"What you have been working for", "..calling all ftb/btl", "....just what your family deserves" (bleurghhhh) and of course - "be quick - this one won't hang aroung for long". The diarrhoea is endless. Still, this stuff all does wonders to promote the wide boy EA stereotype

Another month down, and another quarter too:


Date ......... > £120k .... £120-160k ... £160-250k ..... New ........ New Price ... No chain .... < £250k
Jan '08 .......... 6.64 .......... 26.01 .......... 45.78 .......... 19.87 .......... 12.10 .......... 19.64 .......... 78.43
Feb '08 .......... 5.82 .......... 25.63 .......... 46.56 .......... 18.14 .......... 11.32 .......... 19.58 .......... 78.06
Mar '08........... 7.57........... 24.38 .......... 45.88 .......... 18.93 ........ 14.55 ............ 21.92 .......... 77.82
Apr '08........... 7.96 .......... 24.93 ........... 47.56 .......... 22.99 ......... 16.8 ............ 20.95 .......... 80.44
May '08 ........ 10.5 ......... 26.64 ............ 44.53 ........ 19.93 ........ 21.44 ......... 20.49 .......... 81.67
June '08 ......... 10.36 ........ 27.1 ............. 43.52 ......... 19.89 ........ 21.99 ......... 23.24 .......... 78.71


Ave '07.......... 4.52 ........... 18.23 ......... 50.69 ............ 23.78 ........... 9.34 ......... 16.22 .......... 73.44
Ave Q1 '08..... 6.68 ............ 25.34 ......... 46.07 ........... 18.98 ........... 12.65 ........ 20.38 .......... 78.09
Ave Q2 '08 .... 9.68 ........... 26.25 ......... 45.15 ........... 20.86 ........... 20.18 ......... 21.48 ......... 80.38

That whole argument of no-one lowering their price if they're above £250k is becoming all too apparent - presumably the reason that we're not seeing an increase in the sub £250k total - but it's very frustrating! At some point the flood gates will open... At least the figures are holding, and this last quarter should have the wonder of the spring bounce included in it, I guess the beginning of October will be the beginning of all things dire - the figures will just hold till then, unless of course, something "big" happens.

Great work w&s!

More property in the sub £120k bracket - just what I like to see!

MattW, you'll be happy with the figures this month too!!

Date ......... > £120k .... £120-160k ... £160-250k ..... New ........ New Price ... No chain .... < £250k
Jan '08 .......... 6.64 .......... 26.01 .......... 45.78 .......... 19.87 .......... 12.10 .......... 19.64 .......... 78.43
Feb '08 .......... 5.82 .......... 25.63 .......... 46.56 .......... 18.14 .......... 11.32 .......... 19.58 .......... 78.06
Mar '08........... 7.57........... 24.38 .......... 45.88 .......... 18.93 ........ 14.55 ............ 21.92 .......... 77.82
Apr '08........... 7.96 .......... 24.93 ........... 47.56 .......... 22.99 ......... 16.8 ............ 20.95 .......... 80.44
May '08 ........ 10.5 ........... 26.64 ........... 44.53 .......... 19.93 ......... 21.44 ........... 20.49 .......... 81.67
June '08 ....... 10.36 ......... 27.1 .............. 43.52 ......... 19.89 ......... 21.99 ........... 23.24 ........... 78.71
July '08 ........ 12.75 ......... 28.31 ............ 41.26 .......... 17.62 ........ 23.49 ........... 23.42 ........... 82.31



Ave '07.......... 4.52 ........... 18.23 ......... 50.69 ............ 23.78 ........... 9.34 ......... 16.22 .......... 73.44
Ave Q1 '08..... 6.68 ............ 25.34 ......... 46.07 ........... 18.98 ........... 12.65 ........ 20.38 .......... 78.09
Ave Q2 '08 .... 9.68 ........... 26.25 ......... 45.15 ........... 20.86 ........... 20.18 ......... 21.48 ......... 80.38

You'll see that the number of sub £120k properties and the number of reductions have both pretty much doubled since the beginning of the year

And in comparison to July last year, there are about 3 times as many sub £120k properties, and 2.5 times the number of reductions! Hurrah!

Great stuff, w&s! Music to my ears!

Hi, I'm a total newbie and have been lurking on these boards for quite some time. Only joined today though.

Just wanted to say thanks to W&S for all the stats - makes interesting reading. It's been a long time since I looked at the supplements so handy to be able to keep an eye on how things are going in Norwich. I'm near you Matt - also East Norwich.

Hello Fleecy - Welcome to the forum!

Welcome Fleecy! Glad the stats are of use

Date ......... > £120k .... £120-160k ... £160-250k ..... New ........ New Price ... No chain .... < £250k
Jan '08 .......... 6.64 .......... 26.01 .......... 45.78 .......... 19.87 .......... 12.10 .......... 19.64 .......... 78.43
Feb '08 .......... 5.82 .......... 25.63 .......... 46.56 .......... 18.14 .......... 11.32 .......... 19.58 .......... 78.06
Mar '08........... 7.57........... 24.38 .......... 45.88 .......... 18.93 ........ 14.55 ............ 21.92 .......... 77.82
Apr '08........... 7.96 .......... 24.93 ........... 47.56 .......... 22.99 ......... 16.8 ............ 20.95 .......... 80.44
May '08 ........ 10.5 ........... 26.64 ........... 44.53 .......... 19.93 ......... 21.44 ........... 20.49 .......... 81.67
June '08 ....... 10.36 ......... 27.1 .............. 43.52 ......... 19.89 ......... 21.99 ........... 23.24 ........... 78.71
July '08 ........ 12.75 ......... 28.31 ............ 41.26 .......... 17.62 ........ 23.49 ........... 23.42 ........... 82.31
Aug '08 ........ 12.78 ......... 29.15 ............ 43.55 .......... 21.74 ......... 24.66 .......... 24.46 ........... 85.48

Have to bear in mind that the number of properties being advertised is at an all time low, so I'm guessing that skews the data a bit - particularly the "new on" section - more likely to advertise your new stock than that lingering at the back of the cupboard as it were, unless you've dusted it off and put a big "sale" stickie on it to try and get shot of it....

Excellent work as usual and still going the right way - will we see 15% of properties under £120,000 by October?. What surprises me is that the no chain just keeps on getting bigger which makes you ask the question 'why?'. Is it amateur landlords who have got rid of the last set of tenants and are now trying to offload their 'investment' before it plunges in price any further?

I'd guess it might have something to do with the people who want to move but can't sell so are renting their places out at the same time as trying to sell them. A couple of local rental agents have told me they've had a lot of these come onto their books.

I'd have thought this would push prices down as they've apparently started to flood the market, but it doesn't seem to be doing so. I wonder if these places tend to be offered at a higher rent as the owner needs to cover their mortgage? I just can't see how people can afford to do it though. If you had a two bed flat bought in the last few years you'd get £500 pcm month for it but you'd probably be paying £400+ on the mortgage and you'd still have to pay agents fees, cover voids, shell out for repairs etc. Surely you'd be out of pocket renting, losing money on the value AND losing value on the new place you'd bought? I genuinely don't understand it!

Anyhoo, back to the original point, all these mystery people renting out their old places are often still trying to sell, so they'd be chain-free as they've already moved. So maybe it's that?

Phew! What a convoluted post. Sorry!

Fleecy, I think you're right - lots of people taking the let to buy option, combined with LLs trying to get out of the game (I include in the "no chain" tally if it says currently let out with a rent of £xxx, as I figure if you bought you can chuck them out in 6 months or less).

Also add in people moving in together to try and flog a property/people who have moved in but kept on the other property but now want the cash, forced sellers (presumably before things go to auction the bank has to make a reasonable attempt at flogging it on the normal market first - the repo'd have probably moved out already).

There's one more category that I've been wondering about - when you move into a new build, and they take your current property as part exchange. Barratts/David Wilson etc have to get shot of that property to make the money out of it. How many properties are there floating about that are technically owned by big time developers? They must have some magical "sell" price all worked out based on the price they flogged the newbuild at, and I wonder how flexible they are about prices on their old housing stock?

Will have to wait for the end of the week to know for sure, but things look promising

However, very belated - here are the results for the September average, and for Q3 (I hear that in Eurovision results phone in voice in my head...)

Date ......... > £120k .... £120-160k ... £160-250k ..... New ........ New Price ... No chain .... < £250k
Jan '08 .......... 6.64 .......... 26.01 .......... 45.78 .......... 19.87 .......... 12.10 .......... 19.64 .......... 78.43
Feb '08 .......... 5.82 .......... 25.63 .......... 46.56 .......... 18.14 .......... 11.32 .......... 19.58 .......... 78.06
Mar '08........... 7.57........... 24.38 .......... 45.88 .......... 18.93 ........ 14.55 ............ 21.92 .......... 77.82
Apr '08........... 7.96 .......... 24.93 ........... 47.56 .......... 22.99 ......... 16.8 ............ 20.95 .......... 80.44
May '08 ........ 10.5 ........... 26.64 ........... 44.53 .......... 19.93 ......... 21.44 ........... 20.49 .......... 81.67
June '08 ....... 10.36 ......... 27.1 .............. 43.52 ......... 19.89 ......... 21.99 ........... 23.24 ........... 78.71
July '08 ........ 12.75 ......... 28.31 ............ 41.26 .......... 17.62 ........ 23.49 ........... 23.42 ........... 82.31
Aug '08 ........ 12.78 ......... 29.15 ............ 43.55 .......... 21.74 ......... 24.66 .......... 24.46 ........... 85.48
Sept '08 ....... 12.11 ......... 30.9 ............. 42.49 ......... 15.61 ........ 27.37 ........... 27.73 .......... 85.5

Ave '07.......... 4.52 ........... 18.23 ......... 50.69 ............ 23.78 ........... 9.34 ......... 16.22 .......... 73.44
Ave Q1 '08..... 6.68 ............ 25.34 ......... 46.07 ........... 18.98 ........... 12.65 ........ 20.38 .......... 78.09
Ave Q2 '08 .... 9.68 ........... 26.25 ......... 45.15 ........... 20.86 ........... 20.18 ......... 21.48 ......... 80.38
Ave Q3 '08 .... 12.6 .......... 29.23 ......... 42.33 ........... 18.49 .......... 24.85 ......... 24.84 ......... 84.16

So, all good.... apart from the endless frustration of the resilience of the £250k barrier. I really don't understand it, as it's purely psychological on the vendors part only - there's no direct benefit to anyone other than the government in it - it's not like the stamp duty goes to the vendor or anything, so they might as well just drop the price When you look at the %age of properties in the £160-250k bracket in the average for 2007, it's really stark that it's properties below that line that are dropping in price, and not the ones above that line coming down (if that makes sense) anyway, grrrr! The number of properties below £120k have tripled, properties £120-160k have increased a third, but that £160k - £250k has actually dropped since the 2007 average. rant over!

October's averages added to the list:

Date ......... > £120k .... £120-160k ... £160-250k ..... New ........ New Price ... No chain .... < £250k
Jan '08 .......... 6.64 .......... 26.01 .......... 45.78 .......... 19.87 .......... 12.10 .......... 19.64 .......... 78.43
Feb '08 .......... 5.82 .......... 25.63 .......... 46.56 .......... 18.14 .......... 11.32 .......... 19.58 .......... 78.06
Mar '08........... 7.57........... 24.38 .......... 45.88 .......... 18.93 ........ 14.55 ............ 21.92 .......... 77.82
Apr '08........... 7.96 .......... 24.93 ........... 47.56 .......... 22.99 ......... 16.8 ............ 20.95 .......... 80.44
May '08 ........ 10.5 ........... 26.64 ........... 44.53 .......... 19.93 ......... 21.44 ........... 20.49 .......... 81.67
June '08 ....... 10.36 ......... 27.1 .............. 43.52 ......... 19.89 ......... 21.99 ........... 23.24 ........... 78.71
July '08 ........ 12.75 ......... 28.31 ............ 41.26 .......... 17.62 ........ 23.49 ........... 23.42 ........... 82.31
Aug '08 ........ 12.78 ......... 29.15 ............ 43.55 .......... 21.74 ......... 24.66 .......... 24.46 ........... 85.48
Sept '08 ....... 12.11 ......... 30.9 ............. 42.49 ......... 15.61 ........ 27.37 ........... 27.73 ............. 85.5
Oct '08 ........ 15.56 ........ 31.07 ......... 40.05 ......... 15.96 ........ 25.87 ......... 30.03 ........... 86.68
Oct '07 ........... 5.91 .......... 20 .............. 50.18 ......... 19.84 ......... 17.82 .......... 17.04 ............ 76.09


Ave '07.......... 4.52 ........... 18.23 ......... 50.69 ............ 23.78 ........... 9.34 ......... 16.22 .......... 73.44
Ave Q1 '08..... 6.68 ............ 25.34 ......... 46.07 ........... 18.98 ........... 12.65 ........ 20.38 .......... 78.09
Ave Q2 '08 .... 9.68 ........... 26.25 ......... 45.15 ........... 20.86 ........... 20.18 ......... 21.48 ......... 80.38
Ave Q3 '08 .... 12.6 .......... 29.23 ......... 42.33 ........... 18.49 .......... 24.85 ......... 24.84 ......... 84.16

I've added in October 2007 under October 2008 for comparison.

Great to see these figures W&S after a little time away..... amazing figures for October 2008 with an ever increasing percentage of properties in the first two bands and wow, 30% of properties advertised are now chain free as well!.

It's amazing how things have moved in just 3 months (for me anyway) as I've not really been on here or looked at house prices much, but the end doesn't look so far away now after being priced out so long. 2009 is clearly going to be an even worse year for the housing market with repossession rates on a par with 1992 levels so there's a lot more pain to come as yet.

Good to see everyone still posting and hope no one has been too badly affected in the downturn thus far - I'll try and get back into the swing of things a little in the new year but in the meantime I hope everyone enjoys the new year and has good health going forward.

Catflap

Hi Catflap. Nice to hear from you again.

I did wonder where you went - I thought that you ended up buying a house in the Newmarket Street area!