16 November 2023
The house price report for the third quarter 2023 has been published today by Statistics Jersey.
The Jersey House Price Index measures the combined average price of 1- and 2-bedroom flats together with 2-, 3- and 4-bedroom houses. The index includes properties transacted through the Royal Court as well as share transfer properties.
Context
The previous two quarters saw a significant proportion of transactions (45%) take place as the result of completions occurring in new developments. This quarter has, in contrast, seen a low proportion of transactions (less than 5%) as a result of completions in new developments. This has a particular impact on turnover and the composition of market sales statistics.
The low turnover has had significant impact on the price levels in this quarter, particularly for 4-bedroom houses. This is due to turnover of higher priced (greater than £1.5 million) 4-bedroom houses remaining similar to previous years but turnover of lower priced 4-bedroom houses decreasing.
Summary
In the third quarter of 2023:
- on a quarterly basis:
- the seasonally adjusted mix-adjusted average price was 2% higher compared with the previous quarter
- there was a 2% annual decrease in the House Price Index, the first time since Q1 2014 that consecutive quarters have seen an annual decrease
- 1- bedroom flats and 2- & 3- bedroom houses all saw an annual decrease in price
- 4-bedroom houses saw an annual increase in price
- 2-bedroom flats were essentially unchanged in price on an annual basis
- the turnover of properties was 62% lower than in Q3 2022, and we observed in this quarter:
- the lowest turnover of properties (155) since at least 2002, the previous low point being 162 properties in Q1 2013
- 8% of properties transacted were not purchased to be the main residence of the purchaser(s), a 20 percentage point decrease from the previous quarter
- overall housing market activity, on a rolling four-quarter basis, was 22% lower compared with the previous quarter (Q2 2023) and 42% lower than in the corresponding quarter of 2022 (Q3 2022)
- on a rolling four-quarter basis, advertised private sector rental prices were 3% higher during the year ending Q3 2023 compared with the year ending Q3 2022