Manchester's Falling Prices Benefit First Time Buyers

Manchester's flats and maisonettes, which are more affordable for first time buyers, have fallen in price since November 2017 and by a higher percentage than for all properties.*

Manchester's average house prices have been falling overall since December 2017* - from a peak of £172,676 they are now £168,759 (a fall of 2.3%) whereas for flats and maisonettes, prices have fallen from £156,178 in November 2017 to £151,285, a fall of 3.14%. Additionally, out of all housing types, flats and maisonettes in Manchester have exhibited the smallest growth in price every month over the same period (from November 2017).

First time buyers should be encouraged by this when it comes to considering their buying choices. The growing availability of Help to Buy and Shared Ownership schemes in the locale can only help matters and might combat the declining sales volume malaise that has been affecting England and Wales' housing market in general.

In recent times, sales volumes peaked for all properties in Manchester in August 2017 at 733 during that month; since then they have greatly fallen back, to 436, a 40% drop, for the month of February 2018 (the latest month's available figures). This decline was actually worse than for England and Wales over the same period, where volumes dropped from 86,644 to 54,287, a 37% drop.

Average house prices in the whole of the United Kingdom continue to increase although the level of increase is declining. Where house prices previously rose by an average of 7.2% per year between 2014 and 2016, the increase from 2016 - 2018 fell to 5.3% .

Source: Land Registry UK House Price Index 2018

The architecture of Manchester demonstrates a rich variety of architectural styles. The city is a product of the Industrial Revolution and is known as the first modern, industrial city. Manchester is noted for its warehouses, railway viaducts, cotton mills and canals - remnants of its past when the city produced and traded goods. Manchester has minimal Georgian or medieval architecture to speak of and consequently has a vast array of 19th and early 20th-century architecture styles; examples include Palazzo, Neo-Gothic, Venetian Gothic, Edwardian baroque, Art Nouveau, Art Deco and the Neo-Classical.

Styles generally range from from Victorian to contemporary architecture. The widespread use of red brick characterises the city, much of the architecture of which harks back to its days as a global centre for the cotton trade. Just outside the immediate city centre is a large number of former cotton mills, some of which have been left virtually untouched since their closure while many have been redeveloped into apartment buildings and office space.

Manchester Town Hall, in Albert Square, was built in the Gothic revival style and is considered to be one of the most important Victorian buildings in England Manchester also has a number of skyscrapers built during the 1960s and 1970s, the tallest of which was the CIS Tower located near Manchester Victoria station until the Beetham Tower was completed in 2006; it is an example of the new surge in high-rise building and includes a Hilton hotel, a restaurant, and apartments. It remains the tallest building outside London and has been described as the United Kingdom's only true skyscraper outside the capital. The Green Building, opposite Oxford Road station, is a pioneering eco-friendly housing project, while the recently completed One Angel Square, is one of the most sustainable large buildings in the world. The award-winning Heaton Park in the north of the city borough is one of the largest municipal parks in Europe, covering 610 acres (250 ha) of parkland. The city has 135 parks, gardens, and open spaces.

There are many off-plan developments being sold in Manchester. These include, for example, the Manchester Off-Plan development in Great Ancoats street is offering apartments of various sizes for sale, and Unit 31.02 Greengate, which is a luxury tower block riverside development offering apartments of various sizes.

There are help to buy properties available at Fabrick, Warren Road, Cheadle Hulme (studio, 1 bedroom and 2 bedroom apartments) and Mackeson Park, Ashton-under-Lyne (2, 3 and 4 bedroom)..

There are many properties available for shared ownership (resale) including those in Rose Street, Chadderton and Langley Road, Salford.   include those on Sheldon Avenue and City Road. New build (off-plan) shared ownership properties are available at Arkwright Place, Gorton and Atlas Place, Levenshulme.

The average rental price in Birmingham in June 2018 were £1,027 per month and the rental price range varies from under £250 per month to over £5,000 per month.

Postcodes in Manchester are M1 to M99.

Rossmill Lane in Altrincham, which has an average house price of £2.24 million (2015).

Up and coming local areas include Stockport, Salford and Ashton-under-Lyne.