Liverpool resi market remains in doldrums

THE MARKET for city centre apartments in Liverpool remained in the doldrums in 2009, with the average selling price dropping by over 6% to just £125,000.

A new survey by estate agency City Residential found that prices for 1-bed apartments in the city centre dropped by 4% in 2010 to £96,500 and the price of 2-bed apartments dropped by 5.85% to £119,000 for a 625 sq ft apartment and by 8.56% to £156,500 for an 800 sq ft 2-bed duplex apartment.

Prices for Dockside partments held their value, however, increasing by just under 1% to an average price of £145,950.

“The explanation for this reverts back to what we have covered previously that
buyers are looking to purchase in established schemes (with low tenant levels) of which there are probably a higher proportion in docklands than in the city,” said City Residential’s managing director, Alan Bevan.

He is predicting that the decline in prices will continue into 2011, echoing Rightmove’s prediction of a 3-5% fall in property values.

However, he added that he expected to see a recovery towards the end of the year as mrtgage finance improves and the strengthening lettings market (rents increased slightly in 2010) tempts investors back in.

Will Coleman, sales and marketing manager for Rumford Investments’ Unity building, said that sales of city centre apartments have been slow, particularly at the £200,000-plus higher end of the market where many of the remaining apartments on its scheme are pitched.

He said that Rumford had sold the bulk of the 161 apartments at the £60m Unity scheme prior to its opening in early 2008 but the collapse in fortunes of some of its investor clients meant that some had to rescind their deals leaving it with 36 properties. Half of these have since been sold – including both of the £1.5m apartments – and 14 of the remaining 18 units are currently being let at rentals of £1,000-plus per months.

Coleman said the firm had targeted the corporate market and football clubs for lettings and the owner-occupier market with a view to selling the remaining units.

“I can’t foresee any major differences in the market unless the banks’ lending criteria change,” he said. “Having said that, we got away £2m worth of stock last year and if we get half of the remaining stock away again this year we’ll have done OK.”