A recent set of
data from the Land Registry stated that property values in Crawley and the
surrounding area were 6.39% higher than 12 months ago and 21.35% higher than
January 2015.
Despite the uncertainty over Brexit and the reported
stall in the London property market, Crawley property values continue their medium and long-term upward
trajectory. As economics is about supply
and demand, the story behind the Crawley property market can also be seen from
those two sides of the story.
Looking at the supply issues of the Crawley
property market one of the main reasons of this sustained house price growth has
been down to of the lack of building new homes.
Our planning laws has meant the amount of land built on
in the UK today, only stands at 1.8%. Nobody
wants to see the building of modern ugly carbuncles and high-rise flats in our
West Sussex countryside. But the facts
are, with the restrictions on building homes for people to live in, the homes
that the youngsters of Crawley need, aren’t being built.
Looking at the demand side of the equation, one
might have thought property values would drop because of Brexit and buyers
uncertainty. However, some commenters now believe property values might rise
because of Brexit. Many people are risk
adverse, they don’t trust the money markets and the stock market is at an
all-time high (ready to pop again?). The thing about property is its tangible, bricks
and mortar, and you can touch it and you can easily understand it.
The Brits have historically put their faith
in bricks and mortar which they expect to rise in value. Nationally, the value of property has risen by
635.4% since 1984, beating the stock market rise of 593.1%. Both the stock market and property values go
up and down but whilst in the dot com bubble of the early 2000’s, the FTSE100
dropped 126.3% in two years. The worst
drop Crawley saw in property values was just 22.54% in the 2008/9 credit crunch.
Despite the slowdown in the rate of annual
property value growth in Crawley to the current 6.39%, it can be argued the
headline rate of Crawley property price inflation is holding up well,
especially with the squeeze on real incomes, new taxation rules for landlords
and the slight ambiguity around Brexit. With mortgage rates at an all-time low and
tumbling unemployment, all these factors are largely continuing to help support
property values in Crawley (and the UK).
