Housing market in Mansfield still buoyant, despite drop in prices

Figures for September show that prices in September fell by 0.7 per cent on the previous month, with the average cost of a home how £160,440.

The picture was also worse than the East Midlands as a whole, where prices increased by 4.9 per cent, and than the UK as a whole, where they rose by 2.5 per cent.

However, the data, released by the Land Registry, failed to reverse the long-term trend, which has seen property prices in Mansfield achieve 10.5 per cent annual growth, with the average price shooting up by £15,000.

And Jordan Mariner, director of the Mansfield-based estate agents Newton Fallowell, said he struggled to believe there had been any fall.

"The curve is upward and has been for a long time,” he said.

"People are competing for properties, and homes are selling for above the asking price, some within a matter of days.

"There may well be a slight slowdown over Christmas, particularly this year when people will really want to celebrate. But it will pick up again in January.

"We firmly believe the property market will be hot in January, and that property prices will continue on the up.”

Mr Mariner’s views were echoed by Jon Brown, director of Buckley Brown in Leeming Street, Mansfield. He said the market was extremely busy at the moment, and demand was keeping prices high.

"I’ve not seen any change in the market,” added Mr Brown. “If you compare this month with the same time last year, then there are increases across the board.

"For example, there has been a 19 per cent increase in sales viewings, and a huge 26 per cent increase in new buyers coming to the market.

"There is no evidence that the market is easing up. But I do think it will level off towards the middle of next year.”

The September figures show that owners of terraced houses fared worst in Mansfield, dropping one per cent in price to an average of £116,692.

Detached houses went down 0.3 per cent to an average of £230,879, while semi-detached houses fell by 0.8 per cent to an average of £149,915.

First-time buyers in Mansfield spent an average of £141,000 on their first property – £13,000 more than a year ago and £35,000 more than in September, 2016.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £176,000 on average, which was 25 per cent more than first-time buyers.

Meanwhile, in Ashfield, house prices increased by 4.1 per cent in September, boosting a long-term trend of 15.6 per cent annual growth.

The average price for the month in the district was £172,497, a 4.1 per cent increase on the previous month.

It means prices have risen by £23,000 over the past year, putting Ashfield sixth best among the 39 local authorities in the East Midlands.

The average property price in September for the East Midlands was £231,318, an annual growth of 14.7 per cent, and for the UK £269,945, an annual growth of 11.8 per cent.

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