Flats offer ‘growing value’ amid falling demand, says Zoopla
Zoopla's Richard Donnell says: "Flats offer growing value compared to houses, although buyers will remain cautious.”
Flats are offering ‘growing value’ as buyers overlook this type of property in favour of houses, it has been suggested.
Richard Donnell, Executive Director of Zoopla, exclusively told The Neg: “It’s hard to see the market for flats improving quickly as buyers remain sensitive to price and running costs – while supply is high.’
However, he added: “Flats offer growing value compared to houses, meaning their prices are unlikely to fall significantly, although buyers will remain cautious.”
He suggested that greater awareness of the extra costs of owning a leasehold and Government reforms should help the market to “improve in the months and years ahead”.
There are still people who want to buy flats in high value markets, but there is extra uncertainty around it.”
It comes after Donnell, spoke on Radio 4’s Today programme, this week about homebuyers overlooking flats in favour of freehold houses.
He said the ‘race for space’ trend during the pandemic when people moved out of urban areas to rural and coastal areas has contributed to people bypassing the flats market.
“First-time buyers and the race for space means people outside of London are jumping the flat market and buying three-bedroom houses,” he said.
“There are still people who want to buy flats in high value markets, say like London. But there is extra uncertainty around it.”
Leaseholder protections
Campaigners have warned that leasehold remains a ‘life sentence’ despite Government insisting that new leaseholder protections would be implemented “from next year”.
Katie Kendrick OBE, Founder of the National Leasehold Campaign, (pictured) said: “Leasehold remains a life sentence. Despite nearly a decade of commitments, progress has been too slow, too limited, and too easily diluted.”
The Government’s announcement was in response to an official consultation last year, and follows the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024.
It insists that the new measures will see leaseholders be provided with greater transparency around service charges and stronger powers to challenge unfair costs.
