news release

Midlands joins the South with increasing numbers of higher-priced homes coming to the market

Nottingham, 22 April 2014 – Experian’s latest Property Index has revealed that January, February and March saw the highest year-on-year increase in the number of properties worth over £500k appearing for sale since Q4 2012, a rise of 19.6 per cent compared to the same period in 2013.

This was led by the West Midlands region which saw the number of houses coming to the market worth more than £500k increase by 33.4 per cent compared to the same period last year.

The number of homes coming to the market within the second highest-price band of £250k to £500k increased by 9.6 per cent and this was again led by a Midlands region.  The East Midlands saw 27.3 per cent more homes coming to the market in this higher-price range.

Across the UK, the overall number of homes coming to the market picked up again during Q1 – an increase of 6.7 per cent.  This was after seeing the first year-on-year fall last quarter (October, November and December).

Jonathan Westley, Managing Director of Consumer Information Services at Experian UK & Ireland, comments: “Only the Midlands and the North of the UK continued to see increases in the number of houses being listed for sale at less than £100k in Q1.  The North East, in particular, is estimated to have benefited the most of all regions from the government’s ‘Help to Buy’ scheme, which could explain its favourable performance as sellers are tempted into the market in the hope of benefiting from rising prices. 

“The Midlands, however, appears to have aligned more closely to the South of the UK with a significant increase in houses appearing in the higher-price bands.”

Prices ranges

• The number of most affordable homes (less than £100k) coming to the market picked up again during January, February and March this year – up 7.1 per cent compared to the same period in 2013.  This was after falling by 5.6 per cent last quarter.

Regional highlights

• Unsurprisingly, the Outer Metropolitan (the London commuter belt) and London areas followed closely behind the West Midlands, seeing properties in the highest-price band increase by 33.4 and 28.6 per cent, respectively.
• The North East continued to see the most affordable properties entering the market - up 33.3 per cent.
• In addition to the London and Outer Metropolitan areas, the South East, South West and East of England saw fewer homes entering the lower-price bands, under £250k.

Jonathan continues: “Appetite for owning a house across the UK is high and lenders will be looking for evidence that a person can afford their repayments.  First time buyers should take this into account and address anything that could impact their chances of securing that mortgage.  The first step is to review a copy of their credit report.  For lenders trying to assess affordability in line with the requirements of the Mortgage Market Review, property information can play a key role in helping them understand and treat their customers more fairly.”

The table below shows the percentage change from Q1 2013 to Q1 2014 in the number of properties that entered the ‘for sale’ market during this period.

For lenders interested in finding out how information about property type, value and ownership can help them understand and treat their customers more fairly, please visit www.experian.co.uk/property-data

ENDS

Notes to editors
Experian’s Quarterly Property Index sources data from a range of UK sales & letting agents.

Contact:
Maddy Morgan Williams / Sarah Muir
Lansons Communications
020 7490 8828
maddymw@lansons.com / sarahm@lansons.com 

About Experian
Experian is the leading global information services company, providing data and analytical tools to clients around the world. The Group helps businesses to manage credit risk, prevent fraud, target marketing offers and automate decision making. Experian also helps individuals to check their credit report and credit score, and protect against identity theft.

Experian plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange (EXPN) and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 index. Total revenue for the year ended 31 March 2013 was US$4.7 billion. Experian employs approximately 17,000 people in 40 countries and has its corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, with operational headquarters in Nottingham, UK; California, US; and São Paulo, Brazil.

For more information, visit http://www.experianplc.com.