Property news

Local property prices buck national trend

Brighton & Hove property prices edge towards 2007 peak
Whilst on a national level property prices are still around 15 per cent behind the peak seen in 2007 and before the recent recession, Brighton and Hove’s property market has shown a marked improvement, so much so that here in the city property prices are just 1% behind that 2007 peak.

Land Registry figures show that the average house price in the city is now £229,004, an increase over the last few months and higher than a year ago. Prices are now 1% below the high of £232,171 seen in November 2007. The gap between the average property price for Brighton & Hove and England & Wales has widened over the last two years with prices in the city now almost 41% higher.

Over the last year prices in Brighton & Hove have seen a 5.3% increase in comparison to 1.7% increase nationally. Brighton Business Forum reports that a one bedroom flat now costs £171,850 [up from £171,670 a year ago] and would require a salary of £39,660 and a deposit of £42,960 assuming a 3.25x mortgage and 25% deposit. A three bedroom house at £317,370 [up from £316,080 a year ago] would require a salary of £73,240 and a deposit of £79,340. Meanwhile renting a one bedroom flat would cost £778/month, an increase of £13/month or 1.7%.

Paul Bonett new Team Chairman
Local property agent and former BHEAA president Paul Bonett has been appointed the new chairman of Team Association, the network of independent agents. He follows Neil Parsons, who steps down after more than five years as chariman.
Paul, a well known figure in Brighton and founder and proprietor of Bonetts Estate Agents in Brighton, has also served as chairman of the NAEA’s East Sussex branch.

In Estate Agent Today Paul says he is under no illusions about the challenges Team faces after a difficult couple of years, “I am 100% confident that we have finally turned the corner.

“The new cloud-based Version 6 of our TeamWorks software was certainly a long time coming, but it has quickly proved to be everything we could have wished for, and more. It is at least the equal, in fact, of anything else on the market. Our SEO programme helps members punch consistently above their weight online by delivering hugely enhanced Google rankings. And of course, Team’s multi-listing capability is still the only system in the country that virtually guarantees you access to new listings every single day.”

He goes on to say that there is still more that can be done to improve the Association’s offering – for example, in social media, of which he himself is an enthusiastic user.

He adds “I firmly believe that Team, now more than ever, is the natural choice for all small independent agents looking for the benefits of strength in numbers – and it will be my job as chairman to get that message across to the industry loud and clear.”

Lynne Edwards
After almost 12 years as Sales Director for Latest Homes, Lynne Edwards has moved onto pastures new. But not so new, as Lynne has spent her whole working career in the property industry, and will continue to be a familar face amongst the city’s estate agents. Lynne is now an independent marketing consultant offering a range of services to clients. Latest Homes would like to thank Lynne for her valuable contribution to our team over the years, and wish her all the best in her new role.