Cheap property: half price houses

Updated
Northumberland property
Northumberland property

House prices have officially bounced back since the onset of the financial crisis. However, while that might feel perfectly true in highly-desirable suburbs of London, elsewhere the story is very different. There are many places where house prices remain below their peak, and some properties which have halved their asking price since they first hit the market. We found five of them.

4 bedroom property in Langworth, Lincolnshire £90,000
This four bedroom property has been advertised as needing a little TLC, but that's vastly understating the partially renovated state of the house. It may be because the property needs work, or it may be because the seller will only entertain enquiries from cash buyers, but since it was listed in November last year the price has been reduced four times - from £180,000 to £90,000. This price change definitely has more to do with the property than the area - which has seen modest gains for the last two years.

3-bedroom semi in Ferryhill £45,000
This perfectly nice property is suffering from the fact that it has been on the market for almost three years. It was first listed at £89,950 in October 2011, and the price has been reduced four times since then. The most dramatic cut was in April this year when it was slashed by over 30% in the hope of getting a sale. Ferryhill itself has seen house prices fall across the board. While they have made modest gains in the last 12 months, they have yet to reach the levels they were at five years ago.

2-bedroom end-of-terrace in North Ormesby, Middlesborough £25,000
This starter home is looking a little dated, but is perfectly liveable. It was first listed for £49,950 in March 2013, but the owner seems keen to sell. They have knocked the price down three times in less than 18 months, and now the price is 49.9% lower than when it started. The problem here seems to have been the initial asking price. The only other house on the street to have sold in the last year fetched £30,500, so a price approaching £50,000 was likely to be very ambitious.

7-bedroom detached house on the Isle of Wight £1m
This beautiful home in Ryde is a Grade II listed farmhouse, with seven bedrooms, five reception rooms, and comes complete with an Aga. It sits in large grounds, and there are several out-buildings ripe for conversion.

However, while it has clearly made a perfect home for the farming family (with an annex for their mother), it could do with some updating - and there's a distinct shortage of bathrooms. The property was listed for £1,975,000 in July 2011. That price could conceivably have been considered a bit optimistic: which is reflected in the fact that in September that year the price dropped £1,500,000.

The optimism may have come from a small surge in local prices just before the house went on the market - which means that despite recent house price rises the property market is yet to return to the level it was at four years ago. There may even be further to go: in November 2012 the price fell again, and yet it remains on the market.

6-bedroom detached home in Northumberland, £2,335,500
This Morpeth property is officially keeping the price under wraps, but we know it was initially on the market for £4.5 million and has been reduced 48.1%, so £2.3 million is a reasonable estimate of the current asking price.

This is a spectacular property, with a sweeping marbled staircase, indoor pool, sauna, steam room, gym, wine cellar, state-of-the-art kitchen, cinema room and six bedrooms. The agent describes it as "possibly the most striking and opulent house available in the market place in Northumberland for some time." However, the developer has been trying to sell for a while now, so the agent says the price is being reduced 'for a quick sale'.

There's a chance that the developer may have over-estimated the demand for such a high-spec house in the area. The fact that a typical detached house in the locality sells for just over £300,000 would indicate that this is one of the most expensive properties in the area, and the developer may have been too ambitious.


UK House Prices Rise More Than Expected In May: RICS
UK House Prices Rise More Than Expected In May: RICS



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