Savills says political uncertainty is doing little to dampen the Suffolk property market - with changes in lifestyle driving increased demand for town centre homes.
Ipswich in particular has seen a wave of interest in the final half of 2018, while Felixstowe has also witnessed strong growth, according to property experts Savills.
At a recent event at Suffolk Food Hall Peter Ogilvie, of Savills Ipswich residential team, outlined trends in the local market and looked ahead to 2019.
“Education and connectivity have always been important but we are now seeing a greater demand from buyers who want to make their lives that little bit easier,” he said.
“With both parents working they want to be able to walk their children to school and have a shorter commute – fuelling interest in town centre properties.
“Lifestyle is now paramount. The majority of our buyers want homes that require less looking after and are easy maintenance.”
He said that Ipswich in particular was proving increasingly attractive, while markets in Felixstowe and Woodbridge also represented good value for money.
“We’re going into the final part of this year on a positive note and I think the message going forward is one of cautious optimism,” Peter continued.
“Obviously there is a great deal of political uncertainty but it hasn’t had as much impact as we might have thought. In Suffolk, our buyers want to buy homes – not investments – so there is a real sense that they just want to get on with things.
“There’s plenty of value to be had. We recently sold a house close to Christchurch Park in Ipswich for example for £995,000 – a like for like property in London would set you back £18m. Similarly in Felixstowe, we have a property on the market at the moment for £600,000 in Priory Road which has attracted great interest. Further along the coast in Aldeburgh a similar property would cost £1.75m.”
The Home Truths event, attended by around 60 guests, also heard from Kirsty Bennison, of Savills Residential Research, who said the firm is forecasting house prices in the East of England to rise by 9.3% in the next five years.
St Edmundsbury, Colchester and Mid Suffolk have seen the highest growth in house prices over the last 10 years compared to neighbouring authorities, she added, while Suffolk Coastal has the highest annual price growth followed by Tendring and Ipswich.
“There is a strong urban market but Suffolk Coastal has always been a popular part of the country and house price growth remains strong”, she added.
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