Lancaster & Morecambe 01524 843322
Posted on Tuesday, November 8, 2022
It is an interesting time. Buyers are still out there. New buyers are appearing, some of these whom have been waiting for a calmer market so they don’t have to feel pressurised into buying the wrong property. Every market creates a market. People need somewhere to live. We just have to adjust to what is happening in the wider economy.
October brought us another new prime minister. Whilst this still meant bank interest rates remained higher, the financial markets seem to be reacting better overall. Hopefully, a period of stability is on the way. We do not know what this means for the future of the Eden Project North - will the funding be available? However, Morecambe still carries a feeling of optimism and compared to other areas in the North West, it is still an affordable place to live. Nothing can ever take away our beautiful coastline and fabulous scenery.
When we look at the figures below, the story being told in Morecambe is very similar to other parts of the UK. New instructions are up as more people look to sell. Sales are down as buyers become more cautious and the choice available to buyers grows.
The biggest difference though is in the level of price reductions. We have been saying for months that there are some optimistic asking prices out there, hence the level of reductions we are now seeing.
My message this month is one I think I will be repeating for some time. If you want to sell your Morecambe home, sensible, fair pricing has just become the most important thing you can do.
Here are your figures for October 2022.
The average price in Morecambe for a property is now £158,126. This is another small decrease of £685 in the last month, however, prices are still 7% higher than there were 12 months ago and have increased by 28% over the past 5 years. Interestingly the gap between Lancaster and Morecambe house prices has widened to £10,623. This is something to watch.
Something also to note is that the average price per sqft of an apartment does change considerably in Morecambe given that the difference in quality, area and views.
Buyer demand in Morecambe continues to fall, however, it is still higher than it was back in 2019. Historically Morecambe has always gone quieter in the Autumn / Winter months. Should we hear positive news regarding Eden, we still expect this to increase!
In the meantime, accurate, sensible pricing is paramount along with marketing that ensures your home does stand out.
In October, there was a choice of 607 different properties for sale in Morecambe. 82 of these found buyers. This was just 13.5% of the market.
Of the 607 homes available, 291 of these homes have been for sale for 12 weeks or longer. That equates to 47.9%% of the market. There were 87 price reductions in total, the month before there were 84. For complete transparency, at JDG we reduced 3 properties in price.
21 estate agents were involved with the 82 property sales in Morecambe.
As we head into November buyers will find they have more choices as stock levels continue to grow. There are now 478 homes for sale in Morecambe, spread across LA3 and LA4.
We had some great successes. Gardens Grove and Twemlow Parade were all snapped up quickly. Two homes on Mears Beck Close sold in days. A superb home on Norton Road sold for the full asking price despite having been previously marketed with a different estate agent before switching to us.
We said goodbye to Altham Road, Gleneagles Drive, Stansey Avenue, and Harewood Avenue to name just a few as the new buyers came to collect their keys to their new homes. We now need more homes for sale. Despite the changing market, we still have buyers looking. Can you help us, help them? You can email me at michelle@jdg.co.uk or call me on 01524 843322.
Thanks for reading
Michelle Gallagher
Ps. If you are thinking of selling, this is quite important. For the 2nd year in a row, we have been ranked as the No.1 Estate Agent in the UK The Property Academy. You do not pay to enter, every single estate agent in the UK is automatically entered. There are 15,000 different companies entered.
This is the highest award any estate agent in the UK can win. It is judged on 3 key elements - marketing, service and results. The results are the important part for you. On average we achieve you 2% more for our clients than agents in our area.
