“How much would it cost to buy all the properties in Runcorn?”
This fascinating question was posed by my almost 14 year old daughter as we were chatting over the Christmas holidays (doesn’t that seem an age away now!). I thought to myself, that over the Christmas break, I would sit down and calculate what the total value of all the properties in Runcorn are worth … and just for fun, work out how much they have gone up in value since I was expecting my daughter back in the autumn of 2002.
In the last 14 years, since the autumn of 2002, the total value of Runcorn property has increased by 98% or £1.86 billion to a total of £3.77 billion. Interesting, when you consider the FTSE100 has only risen by 68.9% and inflation (i.e. the UK Retail Price Index) rose by 38.7% during the same 14 years.
When I delved deeper into the numbers, the average price currently being paid by Runcorn households stands at £161,644.… but you know me, I wasn’t going to stop there, so I split the property market down into individual property types in Runcorn; the average numbers come out like this ..
Runcorn Property Market
Average Value of a Detached Property | Average Value of a Semi-Detached Property | Average Value of a Terraced/Town House Property | Average Value of an Apartment |
£239,151 | £166,819 | £98,006 | £72,400 |
… yet it got even more fascinating when I multiplied the total number of each type of property by the average value. Even though detached houses are more expensive, when you compare them with the much cheaper semi-detached houses, you can see detached properties are not a match in terms of total pound note value of the semi-detached houses.
Total Value of all the Runcorn Detached Properties | Total Value of all the Runcorn Semi-Detached Properties | Total Value of all the Runcorn Terraced/Town House Properties | Total Value of all the Runcorn Apartments |
£1,136,445,552 | £1,430,139,287 | £990,644,648 | £209,598,000 |
So, what does this all mean for Runcorn? Well as we enter the unchartered waters of 2017 and beyond, even though property values are already declining in certain parts of the previously over cooked Central London property market, the outlook in Runcorn remains relatively good as over the last five years, the local property market was a lot more sensible than central London’s.
Runcorn house values will remain resilient for several reasons. Firstly, demand for rental property remains strong with continued immigration and population growth. Secondly, with 0.25 per cent interest rates, borrowing has never been so cheap and finally the simple lack of new house building in Runcorn not keeping up with current demand, let alone eating into years and years of under investment – means only one thing – yes it might be a bumpy ride over the next 12 to 24 months but, in the medium term, property ownership and property investment in Runcorn has always, and will always, ride out the storm.
If you’re interested in investing or have already invested in the Runcorn property market and want to discuss maximising your investments, pop in for a coffee at 60A High Street, Runcorn, WA7 1AW or visit our website www.homesmartlettings.com