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Million pound homes soar
7:00pm Friday 21st September 2007
Comments (14)The number of £1million homes being sold in Sussex is soaring, new figures have revealed.
Research from Halifax Estate Agents highlights that there has been an almost three-fold increase in the number of million pound property sales in England and Wales over the past five years.
There are now an estimated 88,000 homes valued above £1 million in the country, with Sussex towns featuring prominently on the list.
A total of 45 homes have been sold for £1million or more in Chichester over the past five years, topping the Sussex league. There were 39 sold in Brighton and Hove, 38 in Horsham, 32 in Haywards Heath and 10 in Lewes.
At the lower end of the table, Eastbourne and Worthing both saw three £1million sales, Battle two, and Hastings and Burgess Hill one each.
Experts say it is no coincidence the majority of those sales were clustered over the last two years.
Charles Peck, a Chichester estate agent with 30 years experience, said: "I am quite surprised that Chichester tops the league as I know there are plenty of million-pound properties in Brighton and Hove.
"However Chichester is a beautiful cathedral city where a large proportion of people come to live, not work. It is not too large and is sandwich by the sea on one side and the South Downs on the other, and it is fine for commuting to London.
"There has definitely been a sharp rise in the number of million-pound properties over the past couple of years."
Other Sussex towns featured on the list include Arundel with eight £1million sales in the last five years, with six in Littlehampton and Hassocks, five in Steyning and one in Seaford.
Sarah McCarthy, senior negotiator at Mishon Mackay estate agents, in Hove, said: "Brighton and Hove has been a desirable location for buyers for many years now.
"It is a thriving city by the sea and there is a lot of money being pumped into it. The city also offers easy access to London and the commute time can be the same from brighton as it can to get to work across London.
"Despite house prices being pushed up, they are still cheap compared to London which is why lots of buyers look down here. It is no surprise the number of million pound homes is increasing."
A list of average house prices released earlier this year revealed the most expensive streets in Sussex. Top of the list was Wrens Warren, Chuck Hatch, in Ashdown Forest, where the average house price as £1.7 million, followed by Bosham Hoe, in Bosham (£1.1million), Montpelier Villas, Brighton (£981,000), Charlton Gardens in Ditchling (£968,000) and Tongdean Avenue, Hove (£930,000).
Colin Kemp, Managing Director at Halifax Estate Agents, said: "Million pound property sales are now taking place right across England and Wales and not just in inner London.
"At the same time, million pound property clusters are emerging - and the trend is showing no signs of slowing down."
Are house prices spiralling out of control? Leave your comments below.
Your Say YourThe Argus
RAS Putin, Brighton says...
3:29am Sat 22 Sep 07
Nelvis, Hove says...
10:54am Sat 22 Sep 07
teal, hove says...
6:35pm Sat 22 Sep 07
dc, newhaven says...
6:53pm Sat 22 Sep 07
perhaps one who wishes ill fortune on one another, is envious!
jan, hove says...
7:43pm Sat 22 Sep 07
RAS Putin, Brighton says...
7:58pm Sat 22 Sep 07
Milo, hove says...
8:46pm Sat 22 Sep 07
Brightonian, Brighton says...
9:43pm Sat 22 Sep 07
"It's different this time", "It's a new paradigm", "Demand outstrips supply", "Prices in **** only goes up" - all classic bubble-talk in every speculative bubble that has ever been.
Don't fall for it. Although easy to say: even Isaac Newton got caught up in the South Sea Bubble (and lost a fortune)
Darryl, Brighton says...
2:15am Sun 23 Sep 07
jan wrote:there are plenty of "really vile" parts of Brighton and Hove you know Jan!
As a financial expert, there will never be a crash in brighton and hove because it is so sought after totally individual with more people wishing to live here than properties. This country is very regional, therefore there will be some places that will dip because people bought in the not so salubrious places because they seemed cheap, but are really vile places to live. Other areas will see a levelling off.
Lesley, Brighton says...
3:58pm Sun 23 Sep 07
bob, lewes says...
9:37am Mon 24 Sep 07
Be careful what you wish for..!
Phil, says...
4:57pm Mon 24 Sep 07
'Over there' supply is far outstripping demand. We have one of the highest rates of divorce, high level of immigration, historically low levels of unemployment and low levels of interest rates. This does drive up the demand for housing and thus the price.
I think that interest rates will come down in the next year and thus maintain the status quo as far as modest house price rises in the near future. The recent rises are unsustainable and unheathly for the country.
The UK is far far far less exposed to the sub prime market arranged within the UK itself. The issue is that due to the international nature of financial markets we are exposed to the risks delivered in other countries.
Until the financial market crashes (why is it going up then?) Brighton will always potentially buck the national trend along with London. Transport links make us very close to the capital.
If the proposed fast rail link actual happens this will make Brighton and Hove even more attractive to buyers.
Finally. Buy To Let entrepreneurs (not one myself) - do you not think that actually they are possbily driven to it due to the terrible, dreadful and shocking way that pension schemes have been dealt with in the last ten years. Some people see it as being their pension. It is an investment for the future. A long term one.
The 'crash' may happen but I think it is unlikely. If it does, in five years time it will be back and up and running again.
What goes up can come down, but it can also go up after as well!!
BEN WHEELER, BRIGHTON says...
11:55pm Mon 24 Sep 07
Unfortunately for them the state of the UK'S pension system is only going to strengthen the working classes dream of owning their own home! Why? because home ownership is something the working class understand and see security in, in the same way the city workers with their massive bonuses see security in gold!
Gold has almost trebled in price in a few months, this is would guess is due to high demand, the same high demand that has driven the house prices so high over the last few years, not that i personally believe it was ever there, the high demand argument was there to help make the property investment vehicles, as they are know work, along with the low interest rates, which would help keep costs down while the properties were empty!
The climbing price of gold, and to some extent other metals would suggest the city workers and other investors are already pulling out of property and investing elsewhere!
Remember, they would have know about the Northern Rock fiasco long before the rest of us!
As for Buy-to-Let, i would not wish ill on any individual, I've been trying to get a friend of mine to talk his parents into pulling out of Buy-to-Let for about two years! But what i will say is that rights are a package deal with responsibilities, and sadly the ordinary people who have placed their hard earned cash into But-to-Let are almost certenly going to be screwed over twice!
Secondly by repossession and negative equity, the first time has already sadly happened, and that's when they cashed in there saving and in some cases pension to pay their deposits on their properties!
Sadly for them? maybe a third time they will be screwed as well, and that is that if their Buy-to-Lets are sold at auction for less then the outstanding debt, their bank can go to court and apply for a Charging Order, which if upheld by the judge could see them loose the home the live in as well!
Most importantly of all, the Governments and the Bank of England's failed to take into account property prices when working out inflation is partly responsible for the pension chaos, due to the fact that as working people have fought for inflation busting pay rises, the buying power of pension savings has been eroded!
The real rate of inflation in the UK including house prices is around 8%, this means the Base Rate on savings of any sort need to be about 10% to make them worth while!
Also, one of the reasons for raising the Bank of England Base Rate is to keep a lid on this sort of reckless borrowing!
One last point? property prices count towards the UK'S Growth Domestic Product, where they are now so out of proportion with the rest of the UK'S finances, a drop of 5% in the average house price will probably be enough to tip the UK into recession, especially with the knock on effect on equity withdrawal!
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BEN WHEELER, BRIGHTON says...
11:59pm Fri 21 Sep 07
The crash will be proportional, look at the American Sub-Prime and then at their mortgage companies going bust! and remember our first to do so, Northern Rock is not the only UK bank to owe more in Mortgage debt then it has in deposits!
Avoid this sickness at all costs!