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Go to hertsad24.co.uk for allthe latest local newsPROPERTY BOOM

Thursday, October 31, 2013

Amazing salesreported forthe past yearGary Whittaker, managing directorof Abbey Estates, London Road in

St Albans, described the past yearssales as amazing.

St Albans was benefiting fromincreased interest from buyersdeterred by rising London prices.

Gary said: There has been atransformation over the past 12months. We are going back to thepre-recession interest levels.

Gary Whittaker,

managing director ofAbbey Estates inLondon Road, St

Albans

The main concern is that wecannot get enough properties. Why?Because St Albans has always been

a desirable place to live and we are ashort commute from London.

I used to ask people why theywere moving from London, and they

said they liked the green space andthe village-like lifestyle.

He added: Last Friday I put ahouse on the market at lunchtime,

and it was sold two hours later, forconsiderably more than the askingprice.

Gary said that open home days

were proving particularly popular.

Sales frenzy grips homes markConfidence in St Albans housingmarket has increased with viewing

numbers growing dramatically and

prices spiking by up to 15 per cent in

some property types over the lastyear.

Herts Advertiser chief reporterDebbie White asked local estateagents, many with decades of selling

experience, whether a housingbubble is looming.

Anecdotes about homes selling

within hours of going on the market,or for thousands of pounds morethan the asking prices come thick

and fast from local estate agents.With bricks and mortar being theirbread and butter, they are welcomingof a recent surge in prices and sales,

but concerned about the shortage ofhouses to sell.

Yet fears of a housing bubble in

St Albans have been firmly swept

aside by agents who are united in

their view that the market is recover-ing but not becoming out-of-hand.

Stuart Cassidy, director of Cassidy

& Tate Estate Agents, said the agencyhad to cancel further visits to oneproperty which attracted 51 view-ings, and ended up selling for 50,000

over the asking price.According to property search

website Zoopla, the average price

paid for 1,720 properties sold over thelast year in St Albans, was 388,031.

With the latest figures from theOffice for National Statistics show-

ing average house prices in Englandhave reached a record high, ques-

Manager of John Curtis Village & Country Homes Mark Lumley outside a

property for sale in Gustard Wood Picture:DANNY LOO

tions have been raised about whether

the UKs house prices are on theverge of a bubble.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders

has recently said that while thelaunch of the Governments Help toBuy mortgage guarantee scheme is

taking place against a recoveringhousing market, it was too soon to

gauge how much extra housing andmortgage demand the scheme would

stimulate.The scheme helps existing home

owners and first time buyers buy a

home with as little as a five per centdeposit.

However in St Albans, estate

agents say while there hinterest in the scheme lhelped stimulate the ma

People concerned abocompetition to buy hentered the market e

planned, for fear of misMark Lumley, mana

Curtis Village and Coun

said: Its helping to buyers and complete ch

But there is a lack

property, which is alwawhere you get a stronbuyers, which is forcing

Nick Doyle, director o

said: I dont know if thing bubble, but there haof a frenzy.

Estate agents said hhad increased betweenper cent over the past y

ing on the type of prsemi-detached, three-bedseeing the biggest rise.

A lack of avaproperty is alwa

danger where ystrong supply o

buyers , whi ch iprices up

Mark Lumley, managerVillage and C

Stuart Cassidy of Cassidy & Tate

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Thursday, October 31, 2013

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Prices are too high, warns homeless charitySt Albans homes are too priceyaccording to a housing and home-lessness charity which has high-lighted the district as being in the

top 20 least affordable areas.In its analysis of the state of

the housing market, released inOctober, Shelter said it was

shocked to find the scale of theproblem faced by first-timebuyers across the country.

Its findings were most

dramatic for London and thesouthern half of England withSt Albans ranked 14th in the 20

least affordable areas for coupleswithout children seeking a two ormore bedroom property.

Less than one per cent of prop-erties advertised were rated

affordable for single people andcouples with children.

The findings were based on asnapshot of the entire Englandhousing market every property

advertised for sale on Zoopla onone day in August.

Shelters warnings have beenechoed by one of the charitys

supporters, St Albans districtcouncillor for London ColneyJacob Quagliozzi.

He said: While increasinghouse prices are a sign of a longoverdue recovery, to young peopleand those on medium and low

incomes this is another boltfastening on the locked door ofhome ownership in St Albans.

Whether Help to Buy is to

blame is up for debate, but whatis not is the lack of new homes.

Cllr Quagliozzi added: With

Shelter demonstrating thechronic lack of af fordable homesto those on average wages weneed an honest local debate about

whether we want a St Albanswhere only the very wealthy canafford to live.

And politicians need to behonest with the public; we need

more housing and we need toincrease options to those locked

out of home ownership withmore council housing, morerented homes and schemes likerent to buy because if we dont,

your children and grandchildrenwont be able to live here.

What the estate agents are saying...

Andrew Bradford, partner at Putterills:Ive been here for 25 years and themarket is not as good as early 2006 in my

experience.But it is the case that properties areselling very quickly.

We are averaging close to 98 per cent ofasking prices at the moment.Family homes are going very quickly. Andwe have seen a lift in the buy-to-let sector.

Neil Hughes, manager of Langleys: Icant generalise about price increases, as

one and two-bedroom flats havent gone upmuch at all, but three-bedroom semis haveeasily seen a 10 per cent increase in prices.

Joe Wilkes, associate director of Ashtons:Its a very, very active market. I haventsold a house via the Help to Buy scheme,

but some have brought their purchasingdecisions forward as there is concern thatprices will be higher next year.As a result prices are higher across most

sectors of the market but I think it willsettle down.

Site manager Simon Rose, associate director at Ashtons Joe Wilkes and Marchfield Sales Jane Coates infront of the Eliot Place development in Harpenden Picture:DANNY LOO