Even though the housing market is in an upbeat state in many parts of the UK, getting on the property ladder is still challenging for many and regarded as unattainable by some. However, that goal has become even worse recently in Doncaster as the number of houses available to buy is at an 8 year all time low.
Back in Spring 2008, there were over 1,800 properties for sale in Doncaster and since then this has steadily declined year on year, so now there are only just over 1,100 for sale in the town. This continuing diminishing supply of housing has been happening over those years for a while and there simply aren’t enough properties in Doncaster to match demand.
According to a recent report by the National Association of Estate Agents, that said, “There are now 11 house hunters fighting after every available house which isn’t sustainable.” What that means is Doncaster youngsters, who are looking to buy their first home, are finding themselves being squeezed out by the competition. However, in the meantime, nobody wants to live with parents until they are in their 30’s, so that in turn creates demand for more rental properties, which means landlords have a greater demand for more rental properties so are buying more, resulting in even less smaller properties for the youngsters to buy, it’s a vicious circle.
Talking to fellow agents, mortgage arrangers, surveyors and solicitors in the town, all of whom have extensive dealings in the Doncaster property market like myself, most of us agree the movement in the Doncaster market is taking place in the middle to upper market, higher up the property ladder and it’s second and third steppers pushing through the properties that are being bought and sold.
That has meant as people tend to move less in the middle to upper market, the number of the properties actually selling has drastically reduced over the last couple of years.
When we look at the individual areas of the town, it paints an interesting picture.
- DN1 – Doncaster Town Centre 2 properties sold in May 2015 (with an average value of £105,000), whilst over the Autumn months of 2014, the number of properties selling in this postcode reached to 11.
- DN2 – Intake, Wheatley, Wheatley Hills 20 properties sold in May 2015 (with an average value of £117,722), whilst over the Autumn months of 2014, the number of properties selling in this postcode reached into the mid/late 30’s.
- DN3 – Armthorpe, Barnby Dun, Branton, Edenthorpe, Kirk Sandall 45 properties sold in May 2015 (the most recent set of figures from the HM Land Registry), whilst over the Summer months of 2014, the number of properties selling in this postcode was always between 52 and 55 per month. (Interestingly the average value of those properties was £165,189).
- DN4 – Balby, Belle Vue, Bessacarr, Cantley, Hexthorpe, Warmsworth 60 properties sold in May 2015 (with an average value of £ 153,626),whilst over the Summer months of 2014, the number of properties selling in this postcode reached into the early 90’s.
- DN5 – Arksey, Barnburgh, Bentley, Cadeby, Cusworth, Harlington, High Melton, Scawsby, Scawthorpe, Sprotborough, Sunnyfields, Toll Bar 49 properties sold in May 2015 (the most recent set of figures from the HM Land Registry), whilst over the Summer months of 2014, the number of properties selling in this postcode was always between 55 and 63 per month. (Interestingly the average value of those properties was £166,264).
- DN6 – Adwick-le-Street, Askern, Campsall, Carcroft, Moss, Norton, Sutton, Walden Stubbs, Woodlands 23 properties sold in May 2015 (with an average value of £ 128,264),whilst over the Spring months of 2014, the number of properties selling in this postcode reached into the early 30’s.
- DN7 – Dunsville, Dunscroft, Fishlake, Hatfield, Hatfield Woodhouse, Lindholme, Stainforth 22 properties sold in May 2015 (with an average value of £ 154,522), whilst over the Spring months of 2014, the number of properties selling in this postcode also reached into the early 30’s.
- DN9 – Epworth, Finningley, Haxey, Auckley, Owston Ferry, Belton, Westwoodside 35 properties sold in May 2015 (with an average value of £208,381), whilst over the Summer months of 2014, the number of properties selling in this postcode reached into the early/mid 40’s.
- DN10 – Bawtry, Misson, Misterton, Scrooby 11 properties sold in May 2015 (the most recent set of figures from the HM Land Registry), whilst over the Autumn months of 2014, the number of properties selling in this postcode always between 27 and 29 per month. (Interestingly the average value of those properties was £202,859).
So what does this all mean for homeowners and landlords alike in Doncaster? Demand for Doncaster property is good, especially at the lower end of the market. However, with fewer properties coming up for sale, it means property prices are proving reasonably stable too.
You see I believe a more stable, consistent Doncaster property market, with less people seeing property as an easy way to make a quick buck (as many did in the early 2000’s when prices were rising at nearly 20% a year so people were buying and selling every other minute), but a property market that has a steady growth of property values in Doncaster, year on year, without the massive peaks and troughs we saw in the late 1980’s and mid/late 2000’s might just be the thing that the Doncaster property market needs in the long term.
