Statistics Jersey has published the House Price Index report for the fourth quarter of 2019.
Annual summary
On a calendar year basis:
• The Jersey House Price Index was 7% higher than in 2018.
• It is the second consecutive year that the Jersey House Price Index has increased by 7%.
• All property types saw average prices increase.
• All property types recorded their highest annual average prices seen to date.
• Advertised private sector rental prices were 7% higher than in 2018.
Turnover of properties was essentially unchanged compared with 2018, due to increased sales of flats (up by 10% on an annual basis) but decreased sales of houses (down by 9% on an annual basis).
Housing affordability decreased on an annual basis. All property types were less affordable to purchase than in 2018:
• A working household with mean net income was not able to service a mortgage affordably on the purchase price of a median-priced house of any size.
• A working household with mean net income was able to service a mortgage affordably on the purchase price of a median-priced one- or two-bedroom flat.
Quarterly summary
In the fourth quarter of 2019, on a rolling four-quarter basis, the mix-adjusted average price of dwellings sold in Jersey during the year ending Q4 2019 was 3% higher than the previous quarter (year ending Q3 2019).
On a quarterly basis:
• The seasonally adjusted mix-adjusted average price was 2% higher than in the previous quarter and 11% higher than in the corresponding quarter of 2018 (Q4 2018).
• The mean price of two-bedroom houses decreased compared with the previous quarter.
• The mean price of all other property types increased, or remained at a similar level, compared with the previous quarter.
The turnover of properties was 13% lower than in Q4 2018, but 7% higher than in the previous quarter (Q3 2019).
Overall, housing market activity, on a rolling four-quarter basis, was around 1% lower than in the previous quarter (Q3 2019) but 7% higher than in the corresponding quarter of 2018.
On a rolling four-quarter basis, advertised private sector rental prices increased by 1% during the year ending Q4 2019 compared with the year ending Q3 2019.
• The full House Price Index report is available here