The foundations of the Peterborough Property Market over the summer have continued to be principally sound; yet the existing political macroclimate means that the critical element of consumer confidence has been reduced and that is triggering some potential Peterborough property buyers and Peterborough house sellers to falter slightly and hang fire making any firm decisions on property. With record low interest rates at 0.75%, low unemployment rates of 3.8%, and decent mortgage availability (even those with low deposits – there were 224 mortgage deals available on the day of writing this article where only a 5% deposit was required and 5 main stream lenders that would offer 100% no deposit mortgages), Peterborough buyers have a lot going in their favour, aside from the perceived political uncertainty. Interestingly, Rightmove have stated there are more properties for sale today in the Country, than at any time since 2016, and Peterborough follows that trend. Even with that in mind, property values have remained reasonably stable as The Land Registry has just released its House Price Index for Peterborough and the surrounding locality and it makes very interesting reading. Overall, property values in the Peterborough area are 3.4% higher than a year ago as the average property value in Peterborough now stands at £237,000. When I looked at the types of Peterborough properties, a slightly different picture appeared..

• Peterborough Detached homes rose by 3.6%
• Peterborough Semi-detached homes rose by 4.1%
• Peterborough Terraced/Town-House rose by 3.3%
• Peterborough Flats/Apartments rose by 2%

and splitting down the types of Peterborough into property types ..

• Peterborough Detached £335,000
• Peterborough Semi-Detached £208,100
• Peterborough Terraced/Town-House £163,500
• Peterborough Flats/Apartments £126,900

Yet, Peterborough Property Market Blog readers will know I always like to measure the health of the Peterborough property market not only by house prices but transaction levels as well .. 3,211 properties were sold in the last year in Peterborough, lower than the 10-year average of 3,636 properties per annum Considering the uncertainty the Country has been through in the last three years with the ‘B’ word issue, I don’t think that’s too bad and shows the underlying resilience of the Peterborough property market. Now looking forward towards the end of the year .. how will Peterborough house values change under the new Prime Minister? Peterborough buy-to-let landlords and Peterborough first-time buyers seem to be sustaining their preceding activity levels, which is heartening news. It’s quite conceivable that both cohorts are presently profiting from the marginally increased numbers of Peterborough homes on the market, which not only offers them greater choice, but aids with their negotiations. The suggested Stamp Duty changes made me look at previous Stamp Duty changes in the last decade and their effects have been rather short term. That means those selling their homes in Peterborough need to be realistic with their pricing, and, as most sellers also buy a property, what you might lose on your sale you will make up on the purchase. BoJo, Brexit … to be honest are all short-term distractions from the long-term issues of the UK and Peterborough property market. Until we start building at least 300,000 properties a year to meet the demand for UK property, demand will always outstrip supply, meaning irrespective of short-term fluctuations that may (or may not) be caused by domestic and world events (including the ‘B’ word’), prices will always in the medium to long term remain stable and increase.