Guernsey House Prices Resume Upward Trend, Reports Skipton International

ST PETER PORT, Guernsey, February 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

- Guernsey Property Prices Continue Steady Rise

- Market Confidence Returning Reports Skipton International

Guernsey property prices rose by a healthy 4.7% on average during the fourth quarter of 2010, according to data released this month by the Guernsey States. Year on year, prices rose by 13.1%, a figure which is comfortably ahead of inflation. Local market transaction volumes declined slightly during the quarter, dropping below 200 for the first time since the start of 2010, but this may be in part have been due to seasonal factors.

The average price of a house in Guernsey has now risen to GBP396,500, a healthy 20% higher than the position 12 months ago and an increase of 5.7% on the last quarter. At the same point last year, average values stood at GBP330,500.

Commenting on the latest Guernsey housing data, Nigel Pascoe, Director of Lending for Skipton International (http://www.skiptoninternational.com/), the Guernsey and Jersey mortgage specialists said, "This quarter, we have seen further solid gains in values, albeit against the background of slightly lower sales volumes. Average prices have now risen in the last three quarters consecutively, which suggests confidence has returned to the market."

There were a total of 192 transactions in the period, consisting of 174 local market and 18 open market sales. A drop in house sale volumes was the main reason for overall dip in volumes with numbers falling to 136 from 189 in the last quarter, whilst apartment sales were broadly stable at 22% of all local market transactions or 38 sales. The local market total of 18 was up 3 on the position at the end of September and at its highest level during the year. The average value of open market transactions fell back to GBP940,000 from GBP1, 235,000 at the end of September, but this figure still suggests a rising trend for the year, although this data needs to be treated with caution, as the sample size is small. Of the 18 transactions, 8 were for over GBP1 million in value.

Nigel Pascoe adds, "The fall off in volumes suggests we have now seen the pent up demand evident in the middle of the year working its way through the system. We witnessed abnormally low sales volumes in the first three months of 2010, but as confidence returned, sales volumes then jumped for six months, so now we are seeing the market settle again. On balance we feel the market is returning to a more stable pattern, helped in part by the return of products which are effectively 100% loans, such as our Next Generation guarantor mortgage ( http://www.skiptoninternational.com/mortgages/guernsey.aspx ) product."

In the UK as a whole, according to the UK Land Registry, over the year to December 2010, prices rose only slightly by 1.2%, with London leading the way with a 6.2% rise. The picture for UK prices in general is now one of a broadly stable market, with modest growth in London due in part to foreign buyers whilst elsewhere, prices are flat or falling. Growth in the South West, for example, was just 1.1%, well below headline inflation.

Nigel Pascoe ends, "We are now seeing a return to higher levels of enquiries which we are confident will eventually translate into house purchases. As the largest lender in both volume and value terms in Guernsey during 2010, we have seen demand spread across all sectors of the market and our 100% Next Generation Mortgage, a guarantor product which can help parents get their children on the property ladder, has been very popular. Equally, our "no mortgage fee" offer has also been very well received and we believe it has helped stimulate overall demand. We may still see some bumps in the market and it is of course vital that house buyers make sure they have the right mortgage for their personal circumstances, something we are able to help achieve with our team of lending specialists here in Guernsey."

For further information regarding Skipton International visit http://www.skiptoninternational.com or call 730 730.

YOUR HOME MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON YOUR MORTGAGE

Editor's notes:

1. Skipton International Limited (SIL) will lend on residential properties in Guernsey, Jersey and Alderney and the criteria on maximum loan to value is as follows:

Next Generation Mortgage with third party security guarantee - 100%

Standard variable rate loans, fixed are loans, base rate tracker - residential only - up to 90%

Buy to let, base rate tracker residential - up to 80%

The maximum term is 25 years.

2. AER stands for Annual Equivalent Rate and illustrates what the interest rate would be if interest was paid and added each year.

3. Skipton International Limited (SIL) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Skipton Building Society (SBS), the UK's 4th largest building society with over GBP14 billion assets.

4. SIL is licensed under the Banking Supervision (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law 1994, as amended.

5. Skipton Building Society has given an undertaking agreeing to discharge the liabilities of SIL in so far as SIL is unable to discharge them out of it own assets and whilst SIL remains a subsidiary of Skipton Building Society.

6. As a Licensed Bank in Guernsey, Skipton International Limited is a participant in the Guernsey Banking Deposit Compensation Scheme (the "Scheme") established by The Banking Deposit Compensation Scheme (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Ordinance, 2008 (the "Ordinance"). The following is a brief summary of the Scheme, but is not intended as a substitute for the actual wording of the Ordinance, a copy of which is available on request.

    
    - The Scheme only applies to 'qualifying deposits', which broadly 
    means deposits made by natural persons for their own benefit; with a
    few limited exceptions such as, for example, deposits made by trustees of
    retirement annuity trust schemes, the Scheme does not apply to companies,
    trusts, partnerships or charities.

    - The Scheme will provide compensation in the event that a Licensed Bank 
    is unable to repay its depositors. Under normal circumstances,
    payment will be made within 3 months of receipt of a valid claim form.

    - Compensation is limited to a maximum of GBP50,000 per individual 
    claimant; in the case of a joint account each depositor would be
    entitled.

    - Total Scheme compensation in any five year period is limited to GBP100 
    million. If claims exceed this cap, compensation would be reduced
    pro rata. The cap also means that compensation in respect of any one bank
    cannot exceed GBP100 million.

    - The amount payable may be reduced if the Bank has any contractual right 
    of set-off against the account. The Scheme is entitled to
    recover compensation from any funds subsequently paid out by the Bank.

    - Further information and a leaflet about the Scheme is
    available at:

    Website: http://www.dcs.gg

    Telephone: +44(0)1481-722756

    Post: P.O. Box 380, St Peter Port, GY1 3FY

7. Deposits made with SIL are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme established under the UK Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.

8. SIL places funds with SBS and thus its financial standing is linked to SBS. Publicly available information, including reports and accounts, is available from www.skipton.co.uk.

9. Copies of the latest SIL audited accounts are available on request.

    
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