After pumping up the UK housing market over the craziness of 2020/21, some of the tabloid newspapers now seem to be trying to push it off a cliff with lots of talk about falls in average UK house price. Surprise, surprise!
But before we get carried away, what does this 'average' statistic actually mean - and is it helpful? Well, to start with, obviously a single statistic referring to a percentage fall in UK house prices does not mean that every house in the UK has fallen by that percentage. The UK property market is comprises hundreds of different local markets, each subject to different factors and pressures. So whilst a house in one part of the country (or county) might have seen a year on year fall in value of 20%, another in a different are may have seen no change in the past twelve months or risen 5%.
Another thing to take into account that this average number will naturally be massively skewed by the volume property market where there are far greater numbers of transactions in the lower price ranges. The numbers of properties transacting in the upper price ranges (and their sale prices) will be very small indeed and not have any impact in that single average statistic.
As an analogy, think about the used car market - is the market for an old Ford Focus diesel going to be the same as for a classic Aston Martin DB5? It's the same with watches too - will the market for a run-of-the-mill Casio be the same as a rare model Rolex or Baume & Mercier? The world of property is no different which is why the UK average house price statistic is pretty irrelevant if you are looking to buy a unique or rare property.
Our advice is not to pay too much attention to sensational headlines which don't tell (anything remotely like) the full story. For example, whilst certain newspapers have been running these stories about 'UK house price crash' (as they do every few years), we have seen some competition between buyers for several sales recently. Also ask yourself are house prices higher or lower than they were 5, 10, 25, 50 or 100 years ago? All markets experience short term fluctuations in value, but over the long term inflation does its thing and asset values have always risen.