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Property market beats the drop

Diane Leach
22/12/2004

ROCHDALE is bucking the trend as property prices continue to plummet in many areas of the country.

Local estate agents agree that activity has slowed down and prices appear to have peaked, but say they do not expect them to fall.

In a year that has seen some properties in the town almost double in value, the good news for buyers is that Rochdale remains one of the most affordable places to live.

Figures released this month in the Halifax house price index indicate the average house in Rochdale is selling for £110,263 compared to £85,355 a year ago, up by 29 per cent.

In neighbouring Bury, the average house is now worth £133,014, while in Rossendale it is £132,775.

But a little further afield, in Stockport for example, the average price is £160,999 and in leafy Wilmslow, the most expensive place to live in the North West, the average price is £264,406.

The Halifax says the average house price in the region now stands at £124,908, up 30.5 per cent on the year and 90 per cent over the past three years, ranking the region fifth out of the 12 UK regions.

Recent interest rate changes, along with affordabiliity issues for first-time buyers, has slowed down house inflation in the North West, says Andrew Bottomley, regional manager of Halifax Estate Agency.

Michelle Nunn, valuer for the Yorkshire Street branch, confirmed that house prices in Rochdale were holding their own.

She said: "It is quieter right across the town, but that is partly down to the season as well as the market, as we are approaching Christmas. We see a similar scene each year and it will start to pick up again towards the end of January."

Admitting it was hard for young people to get on the housing ladder, she added: "We have asked some of our vendors to think about paying the buyer's deposit rather than reducing the price."

Estate agent Steve Barton, of Barton Kendal, confirmed there were fewer first-time buyers in the market.

"They have been under pressure to borrow more and they are the ones who are mostly affected by the hikes in mortgage rates," he said.