‘Nonsense’ report of price boom

Oct 22 2007 by Dave Black, The Journal

A CLAIM that a Northumberland market town has experienced a major boom in house prices was dismissed as ‘utter nonsense’ by local property experts yesterday.

A survey by the Halifax says house prices in Morpeth have soared by 26% in the past year to an average of £214,357, making it the best performing town in the region.

The latest Halifax house price index – the UK’s longest running monthly property price indicator – says the new figures make Morpeth the most expensive town in the North for homebuyers.

But yesterday estate agents in Morpeth – including the Halifax’s own local manager – said claims of a 26% rise in prices in the town were simply wrong. Local experience suggests that prices in the sought-after community have remained fairly static over the past 12 months, with doubts being cast on the Halifax’s methodology.

The Halifax index says house prices in the North have risen by 5.4% in the past year with an average price now of £151,898, 24% below the UK average of £198,898. It says prices in Morpeth rose by 26% over the past year while Bishop Auckland and Cramlington also performed well, experiencing increases of 20% and 18%.

Yesterday Charles Robinson, residential sales director with Rickards in Morpeth, described the claim of a 26% rise as ‘utter nonsense’. “Our experience here is that sale after sale is coming through at the same figures as last year and I am absolutely amazed at this Halifax data. As an estate agent operating day to day in Morpeth I have seen no evidence over the last 12 months of any increases. In fact, the pressure is on prices to move downwards. I would love to see the sample they have used to come to this conclusion.”

Richard Sayer, of Rook Matthews Sayer, said: “This is a complete fiction. It demonstrates the danger of believing statistics possibly based on insufficient evidence and out of date information.’’

Malcolm Potts, the Morpeth-based Halifax Estate Agency partner for mid-Northumberland, said: “I don’t know where they have got that figure from. We are not seeing a 26% rise here. I would say house prices have been pretty level for 12 to 18 months.”

Guy Ogden, regional manager with Halifax Estate Agency, said: “A number of areas across the region have benefited from strong rises. The towns which experienced the biggest increases were Morpeth, Bishop Auckland and Cramlington.

Last night Halifax Estate Agency chief economist, Martin Ellis, said the 26% increase in prices in Morpeth was based on the company’s mortgage lending experience on more than 50 properties.

“We have checked that there is nothing peculiar going on which could distort the figures.That is what the figures show and we stand by them.”

The Halifax index also shows that average house prices in Bishop Auckland, Carlisle, Darlington and Houghton-le-Spring broke through the £150,000 barrier for the first time in the latest quarter.