Liverpool Property Prices Surge as Demand Outstrips Supply

Liverpool property prices have surged yet again this quarter, with median selling prices for flats rising 32% year-on-year and house prices jumping 7% compared to the same period in 2013, as demand continues to outstrip supply in the former Capital of Culture.

This rise in property prices is said to be the result of a massive mismatch between supply and demand, with properties spending the shortest time on the market in Liverpool than any other city - just 18 days during last September, with buyers snapping up properties as soon as they appear on the market.

This shortage still remains, despite a growth in rental stock in Liverpool of more than 75% between 2001 and 2011, attributed to both the city’s growing population which has mushroomed by 5.5% over the last decade, and because of the increasing amount of young professionals moving to the city to take advantage of Liverpool’s booming job market, which produced 12,800 private sector jobs between 2010-2012.

However, housing stock has remained low despite this job production, with housing associations claiming there is a “dire shortage” of smaller flats in the city, with one agency reporting a waiting list of up to ten years for its one bedroom flats.

In a bid to counter this surging demand from private tenants, Liverpool City Council have accordingly launched the 2012 to 2015 housing delivery plan, which will see a £130m investment in housing over the next three years, allowing for the delivery of an extra 2,000 new homes across the city.

Permission has also been granted for the building of around 550 new rental homes across Merseyside, in a bid to support the council in its drive to meet housing demand and to help the Mayor realise his pledge to build 5,000 new homes in the city over the next three years.

In spite of this rising demand from both the private rented sector and first-time buyers, prices, although rising, remain low in comparison to the rest of the UK, with Zoopla showing that the average house price in the city is worth £145,846 - far less than the national average of £244,000. This lower price point makes it an attractive prospect for investors who are looking for the increasingly elusive ‘below market value’ deals, which will allow them to claim strong rental yields of approx. 6.57%; a figure which saw Liverpool named as one of the UK’s Top 10 Buy-to-Let Hotspots by the Telegraph in 2013.

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