While UK property prices have been soaring, the cost of a home in the Isle of Man has barely changed according to experts here.
In the UK, the Office of National Statistics say that property price inflation hit 8.4 per cent in August, the latest figure it has published.
But according to estate agents here, sales and prices remain relatively flat.
Manx government statistics show the average cost of a house was £271,000 in June this year, £2,000 up on the figure for the previous June.
By comparison, the June figure for the UK average house price was just under £220,000.
Shane Magee, Chrystals’ chairman, said there had been a ‘noticeable lift’ in sales, of perhaps 20 per cent, during the year but acknowledged the market was still slow.
‘Admittedly, the increase in activity has been led from the lower price ranges with greatest demand, following the pattern of the last 12 months, with sales concentrated below £350,000.
‘Over the last eight years there has been readjustment and the correction in prices has hit all spheres of the residential property market.
‘Those vendors who have grasped the nettle and effected price reductions had in the main, been rewarded with a sale – those who have resisted may be for sale for some time yet,’ he said.
‘The rental market continues to flourish as many new residents starting a business look at this as a first port of call and we have seen a steady flow of tenants becoming purchasers.’
Helen Ainsworth, of Harmony Homes, said the sales of properties around the £200,000 level were good and that prices had fallen in the past year by around 5 per cent.
‘The market is very slow for anything over £400,000,’ she said.
However, she said there was often a surge in the autumn as people want to complete before Christmas. Concerns over the direction of the economy meant some people were downsizing to pay off mortgages or were reluctant to take on a large financial responsibility.
Mark Canty, director at Cowley Groves, said last year their average house price was £277,000 but stressed this figure could fluctuate significantly depending on the value of recent sales. He has previously suggested a greater relaxation of the work permit system could encourage people to come and work in the island and therefore boost the housing market.
In the UK, the Daily Mail reported yesterday house prices rose by almost £3,000 in the month of October, but annual property inflation slowed to its lowest level in more than three years, according to figures released by the Halifax.
The average price of a home in the UK rose by 1.4 per cent last month to £217,411, on the Halifax house price index, the largest increase since March.
But, under the Halifax’s figures – which are different from the Office of National Statistics and more recent than those we also report – yearly growth slowed to 5.2 per cent as buyers struggled to afford properties, even with record low interest rates. UK annual price growth peaked at 10 per cent in March.
Halifax also reported the average cost of a UK home was more than six times the average salary.
UK house prices are skewed by the cost of property in London where the average price of a house was spiralling towards the £0.5 million mark this summer.
The value of flats also seems to have rallied a little in the island.
The average cost in June this year of a flat in the Isle of Man was £159,000, £10,000 up on June 2015.
A Manx government spokesman said: ‘Rather than looking at specific measures to boost the housing market, government’s policy has been to grow the economy and the working population, which as it takes effect could be expected to increase demand for housing.
‘Relatively lower prices in the Isle of Man could act as an incentive for people to move here.’