Property Investment Since 2002: 14 Years of Change
Property investment has experienced a whirlwind of highs and lows over the past 14 years. Using Rightmove’s Trendometer and a few other sources, we’ve mapped out a timeline of house prices across the England and Wales and their influences.
- Find out how much an influence the US economy had on the UK property market.
- Find out why the average asking price for a UK property has more than doubled in 14 years.
January 2002
Average asking price in England and Wales: £121,446 (1)
“After years of steady decline, the subprime share of the US mortgage market reaches a healthy low of 7.4% in 2002. Subprime mortgages are those which are given to borrowers with poor credit history, often with high interest rates to offset some of the additional risk.” (1)
January 2004
Average asking price in England and Wales: £168,902 (1)
“With a proliferation of cheap mortgages available, residential property transactions in England and Wales hit a high of 1.6 million in 2004.” (1)
March 2004
Average asking price in England and Wales: £177,434 (1)
“With cheap credit widely available, UK mortgage approvals reach a high of 148,000” in a single month. (1)
June 2004
Average asking price in England and Wales: £191,658 (1)
“Basel II, a series of recommendations on banking laws and regulations, is published. The primary goal is to ensure banks put aside sufficient capital to cover their financial risks, thus improving the stability of the worldwide banking system. Due to the complexity and difficulty of its implementation, many countries did not formally adopt the framework until 2008, after the onset of the financial crisis.” (1)
January 2006
Average asking price in England and Wales: £193,984 (1)
“Subprime share of the US mortgage market reaches a high of 23.5% in 2006, up from 7.4% only four years earlier. Many of these subprime mortgages were packaged into ‘mortgage-backed securities’ to distribute the risk, and at the same time were given a Triple-A rating to reassure and encourage investors. The Triple-A rating was especially important due to many money markets and pension funds being restricted by law to only hold the safest securities.” (1)
August 2007
Average asking price in England and Wales: £238,602 (1)
“Interest rates hit 5.75% on the 1st August 2007, their highest point for six-and-a-half years. The pound strengthens against the dollar on the back of the news, rising half a cent to $2.0195.” (1)
February 2008
Average asking price in England and Wales: £235,027 (1)
“After a five-month attempt to snare a private sector buyer for the bank, Northern Rock’s liquidity crisis finally reaches a peak and forces the government to intervene on the 22nd February 2008. The bank is subsequently brought under a temporary period of public ownership.” (1)
July 2008
Average asking price in England and Wales: £232,422 (1)
“On the 11th of July 2008, the New York Times reported that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two of America’s largest mortgage companies, were at risk of being nationalised by the US government. Stock immediately plunged as investors panicked. On the 7th September, both companies were placed into the stewardship of the federal government.” (1)
September 2008
Average asking price in England and Wales: £224,733 (1)
“On the 15th of September 2008, Lehman Brothers is forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US. As the fourth largest US investment bank, the news leads to sharp falls in share prices around the world and to this day remains the largest bankruptcy filing in US history.” (1)
January 2009
Average asking price in England and Wales: £211,030 (1)
“Concerns around the economy and a tighter lending criteria lead mortgage approvals to drop to less than 22,000 in January 2009.” (1)
March 2009
Average asking price in England and Wales: £215,488 (1)
“From a high of 5.75% only 19 months earlier, UK interest rates hit a record low of 0.5% on the 5th of March 2009. On the day of the announcement, the Bank of England also starts a £150 billion round of quantitative easing in an attempt to increase liquidity within the markets.” (1)
October 2009
Average asking price in England and Wales: £227,446 (1)
“The UK limps out of recession, showing 0.4% GDP growth during the 4th quarter of 2009. This breaks six consecutive quarters of GDP decline which saw the UK economy contract by 7.2%.” (1)
April 2013
Average asking price in England and Wales: £248,719 (1)
“Designed to kick-start the ailing UK housing market, the first phase of the Help to Buy scheme went live in April 2013 offering first time buyers the opportunity to borrow up to 20% of the value of a new build home from the Government.” (1)
October 2013
Average asking price in England and Wales: £258,689 (1)
“The second phase of Help to Buy opened up the scheme to all properties (i.e. both old and new) that cost less than £600,000. It also opened up the scheme to all borrowers and not just first time buyers.” (1)
May 2014
Average asking price in England and Wales: £278,993 (1)
“The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development encourages both the UK government and the Bank of England to curb mortgage lending in an effort to stop house prices from spinning out of control.” (1)
April 2015
Average asking price in England and Wales: £286,133 (2)
“The property shortage experienced in many parts of the country has been exacerbated by a 2015 slump in the number of properties being put up for sale and by increased demand, with record spring search activity on Rightmove.” (2)
“Number of new sellers down 4% so far in 2015 compared to 2014 March busiest ever month on Rightmove, up almost 20% year-on-year to 115 million.” (2)
“The political challenge is most extreme in the south of the country, with the price of property coming to market up by an average of nearly £85,000 (+27.5%) since the last election in May 2010.” (2)
June 2016
Average asking price in England and Wales: £310,471 (3)
“Asking prices hit record high despite looming EU vote.” (3)
“Housing market momentum pushes price of property coming to market up by 0.8% (+£2,320) to [a] new high of £310,471.” (3)
“Desire to buy and lack of supply lead to fall in time to sell to 57 days, the fastest ever measured by Rightmove.” (3)
September 2016
Average asking price in England and Wales: £306,499 (4)
“Uncertainty surrounding the Brexit vote failed to hit house buying in the UK, figures suggest, with a slight rise in transactions in August.” (5)
“A total of 109,630 properties were bought in the UK during the month, a very slight rise on a year earlier, HM Revenue and Customs data shows.” (5)
November 2016
Average asking price in England and Wales: £305,670 (6)
“Price of property coming to market records a seasonal fall of 1.1% (-£3,452) this month, a smaller drop than the 1.8% average over the last six years showing signs of a resilient market.” (6)
“Despite the overall seasonal fall, first-time buyers see properties of two beds or fewer rise by 1.7% this month, resulting in an annual jump of nearly £15,000 (+8.2%) which is twice the percentage rate in other market sectors.” (6)
Written by Jenna Kamal, Lead Copywriter at Property Moose.
Disclaimer and Legal
Property Moose does not provide any advice in relation to investments and you must rely on your own due diligence before investing. Please remember that property prices can go down as well as up and that all figures, rates and yields are projections only and should not be relied on. If in doubt, please seek the advice of a financial adviser. Your capital is at risk if you invest. This post has been approved as a financial promotion by Resolution Compliance Limited.
Property Moose is a trading name of Crowd Fin Limited which is an Appointed Representative of Resolution Compliance Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (no: 574048).
Sources:
- http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viz/house-price-trendometer/
- http://www.rightmove.co.uk/news/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/april-2015.pdf
- http://plc.rightmove.co.uk/~/media/Files/R/Rightmove/house-price-index/house-price-index-june-2016.pdf
- http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/brexit-latest-uk-housing-market-prices-first-time-buyers-costs-recovery-a7316051.html
- http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-37427737
- http://www.rightmove.co.uk/news/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/Rightmove-House-Price-Index-November-FINAL.pdf