Home Information Pack :: House Price

This site provides information about home packs for people buying and selling houses. It helps create a home pack (HIP) or provide the information to a third party. It also includes information about energy assessment and the resulting energy performance certificate (EPC) .

House prices have been recorded since 2000 so you can see the last recorded price of the property.

Compare prices!

Why not check the prices of similar properties or nearby properties - simply use the link on the right. This site provides more useful information that is not included in a home pack

Increase value

Buying property is usually the biggest investment most people make and, crucially, it provides the home they are going to live in. By shrewdly selecting the right property and making the right improvements the value of the property can dramatically increase.

You should use the home pack links in this website to build up a picture of local house prices and the character of the area. Other key points to be considered that will affect the price of a house are listed below:

• SPACE – More space means more value. Popular space increasers are: a loft extension, conservatory, extra bathroom or even just some clever space-saving devices.
• ENERGY EFFICIENCY - With the new Energy Performance Certificates in Home Information Packs , energy efficiency will increasingly impact on the price of a home. Reducing the cost and impact of keeping a home at a habitable temperature will increase the price of the home. A good rating will come from an efficient boiler and heating system where the heat is retained through good insulation ie double glazing.
• APPEARANCE - Impressions increase house prices. Small subtle changes can push up prices – people look closely at the roof, doors and windows.
• DRIVE and GARDEN – Make houses look bigger and more attractive – keep them simple and spacious for the best impression. Off road parking, relaxation areas and seclusion are becoming more desirable.
• CHARACTER – People like to imagine themselves in the property they are viewing so neutral colours and uncluttered rooms, shelves, tables etc lead to higher prices. Let features clearly stand out and give the house character.

The value of UK properties

The value of UK properties are rising each year in a way that has seldom been seen in recent times. This relentles rise in house prices is good news for property owners, though it does make life difficult for first time buyers looking to get on to the property ladder. Increasingly properties are viewed as an investment as well as just somewhere to live, and buy-to-let has become an attractive investment where investors can take a rental income from the property, while at the same time watching the value steadily increase.

In the UK property prices have approximately trebled in the last 15 years, and this has radically changed the way in which we look at investing in property. In the past people aspired to own their own house and seen it as security. Since the 1970/80s property has also been seen as an investment and to help see us through our retirement. In the 1970/80s there was a big swing from buyers waiting for Building Societies to grant them mortgages to the ready availability of mortgages thanks to the move of high street Banks into this market. Families with otherwise modest incomes are now sitting on investments that can easily be worth hundreds of thousands of pounds, and this in turn promises a better standard of living, particularly in retirement. As we’re all living longer, this can only be a good thing.

The rise in house prices has a knock on effect. First time buyers are finding that property values are, in some parts of the country, increasingly forcing them to downscale their expectations, change the area in which they wish to live or arrange a joint mortgage. As house prices have gone up, so too has the amount of money banks and building societies are prepared to lend homebuyers with good credit records. The upshot is that as property values have gone up, so too have the number of people owning their own homes. More than two thirds of houses are owned by occupiers which is amongs the highest home ownership rates in the world.

Property prices are set to rise further in the coming years, and while they may not rise as quickly as they have recently, there seems little doubt that the upward trend will continue.

More information
Select "Location" on the menu bar above to link to the local authority, council tax, house density and average prices.

For information on the different areas involved in creating a home pack (HIP) please use the menu bar above.