Five-year property slump is over

Thursday 26 February 2015

Property prices saw their first annual rise since 2009 with almost all types of flats and houses increasing in value.

By the end of 2014 the House Price Index was up 3%, with the typical price of a three-bedroom house up during the course of the year from £484,000 to £502,000.

The figures have been released in the latest property figure data compiled by the States’ Statistics Unit, which also showed that the price of a one-bedroom flat rose £1,000 to £211,000 over the course of the year, and that the price of a two-bedroom flat rose £19,000 to £341,000.

The figures appear to show that the property price slump is over – before the end of 2014, prices had been falling slightly, but consistently, since 2009.

They also show that property prices remain above the UK average, but well below typical figures for London, which has been experiencing a property boom in the last few years.

The mix-adjusted average index – which compiles prices of flats and houses of different size – shows that a typical home in Jersey costs £434,000.

That compares to £271,000 across the whole of the UK, £462,000 in Guernsey and £503,000 in London.

Managing Director of mortgage provider Skipton International, Jim Coupe, commented: "We saw some big increases in property prices in 2007 and 2008, which were quite frankly unsustainable, even without the global economic downturn. Prices have been correcting ever since and these figures show that last year they appear to have plateaued and some growth is returning to the market. 

"The growth in turnover is particularly positive, a trend that seems to have started in the second half of 2013, coinciding with the launch of the States of Jersey Deposit Loan Scheme. We feel this scheme, for which Skipton was the only supporting lender, provided a welcome stimulus to enable more first time buyers take their first step onto the housing ladder and hence facilitate more families to trade up to larger properties."