Property market is "healthy", says expert

Friday 25 August 2017

Housing market figures for the second quarter of 2017 are indicative of a healthy local property market, according to a property specialist.

Julie Melia, partner in Ogier's Local Legal Services team and Property Law Group, says the figures reflect a confident market, with the prices of residential property remaining firm across the board amid positive levels of activity.

The figures, published by the States of Jersey’s Statistics Unit last week, show that the overall seasonally adjusted mix-adjusted average home price in Jersey in the quarter stood at £460,000, 2% higher compared to the same time last year.

With 424 properties sold in the quarter, the turnover of properties was the highest recorded quarterly figure since 2006. One-bedroom and two-bedroom flats and three-bedroom houses were the most popular property types sold during the quarter, with each representing a quarter of all sales. Their average prices rose by 7% and 5% respectively, whilst three-bedroom houses sold at an average price of £549,000, the second highest level ever.

Commenting on the figures, Julie Melia, partner in Ogier's Local Legal Services team and Property Law Group, said: “These latest statistics reinforce what we have been seeing for some time now and are indicative of a healthy local property market. Reassuringly, most property types recorded higher mean property prices in the quarter compared with the first three months of the year, with only four-bedroom houses recording a marginal decrease of just 1%.

“Properties in all sectors and sizes are being bought and sold and prices are rising but at a steady pace. These are the hallmarks of a mature and sensible housing market and, significantly for house buyers, shows that banks and mortgage providers are forthcoming with lending facilities to get transactions over the line."