Oldham house prices buck national trend

LOCAL house prices are bucking the national trend with Oldham reporting a rise over the past year — with detached homes at £260,000 selling best.

Prices for all completed deals in Oldham in the 12 months to September went up 3.2 per cent, despite a drop of 8 per cent for England and Wales.

Latest figures from the Land Registry show more than half the Oldham sales since September, 2007, were detached houses, at over £260,000 on average.

In contrast, prices in the rest of the North-West were down by 6.3 per cent.

The Land Registry house price index, which is calculated on completed house sale prices, shows that Oldham is the only metropolitan district with an annual house price increase.

The average local house price rose to £107,000, although the volume of houses sold has slumped by more than half, from 400 a month in September, 2007, to 180.

The figures show terrace house prices rose from £73,400 to £75,100, semis from £138,300 to £141,600, flats and maisonettes from £102,400 to £104,800 and detached properties from £257,100 to £263,200.

Tameside prices fell by 5.9 per cent, although the average price per sale was £114,000.

The average house price in England and Wales is now £168,814 which is also a decrease of 2.2 per cent. The Oldham figures surprised local estate agent Andrew Chadwick, from Cousins and Co.

He said: “It does come as a bit of a surprise. I would have thought prices had fallen by about 10 per cent.

“But we are possibly doing better than other areas because we start from a lower base and homes are more affordable here.”

Mark Taylor, from Bridges estate agency, which opened in Uppermill a year ago, added: “We sold six houses last week and we are doing OK. However, those in terrace houses wanting to sell to buy a semi, seem to be stuck waiting for first-time-buyers.

“But life goes on and if people have cash this is a good time to buy.”




Breaking up is now even harder to do

ECONOMIC turmoil means couples can’t afford to divorce and end up staying under the same roof.

And it’s all thanks to the credit crunch, according to an Oldham family lawyer.

Daniel Prince, of Oldham’s Pearson Hinchliffe Solicitors, says separation and divorce is traumatic enough at the best of times, but in the credit crunch his firm is seeing the ‘real-life’ effects on North-West couples wanting to split.

There have been a number of high-profile cases where wealthy city types have been unable to finalise their divorce because the family home could not be sold. But the collapse of the housing market and economic downturn is affecting divorcing couples at all levels of society.

Mr Prince said: “Before the current credit crunch, mortgages were more readily available, making it easier for one party to buy the other out.

“If a buy-out couldn’t be achieved, then the house would be put on the market, allowing the parties to go their separate ways with their share of the cash.

“Nine times out of 10, the main equity in a marriage is the house and if that can’t be sold it is considerably more difficult to release funds.

“However, with tightened mortgage restrictions and a reluctance to buy the other person out because of plummeting house values, many couples are in the situation where equity remains locked into the property.

“I know of a number of couples who are having to continue to live under the same roof due to lack of movement in the housing market, causing even more emotional strain in what is already a difficult situation.

“Despite this, it is difficult to advise, as an alternative, that one party moves because of the inevitable financial pressure of effectively having to pay for two houses, as opposed to one previously.”

He said it’s important to seek early legal and financial advice as there are options that can minimise potential difficulties.

His experiences are backed up by figures from the Office for National Statistics which show the number of divorces fell 2.6 per cent in 2007 on the previous year.

But demand for his services is still buoyant.

He added: “When marrying, couples are more cautious nowadays, and this is why some clients are looking for greater security and opting for pre-nuptial agreements, which is an area of law that is developing quickly.”




Sign of the times no problem for this duo

A BUSINESS run by Failsworth entrepreneurs is defying the credit crunch to expand after showing signs of success.

Built-Up Signs, a letter and signage firm, beat 40 small businesses to win £10,000 in New East Manchester’s EnterPrize competition in July.

They have now expanded their Newton Heath unit by 160 per cent to 7,000 sq ft.

Since the win, the Failsworth duo — Peter Potts and Westley McKay — used the prize money to buy a large free-standing wall saw, enabling them to expand into two new areas of the sign market.

The firm had a turnover of £120,000 in its first year of trading and is on course to hit £140,000 by the end of December. It now employs four full-time staff and is looking to take on another person after Christmas.

The entrepreneurs are also developing their product range, now making stainless steel letters and fascia sign trays — two completely new avenues which the team is confident will add value to the business.

Mr McKay said: “The credit crunch hasn’t affected us yet.

In fact, it’s increased our business as companies often want really strong signs to advertise themselves when times are tough.

“The beauty of Built-Up Signs is that we are small and compact but with the size of our new unit we can deal with really big jobs and also much smaller ones.”

The EnterPrize Awards Scheme rewards East Manchester’s most promising entrepreneurs and is open to start-ups and more established firms, with a total prize fund of £22,000 available twice a year.



Tax plea to beat recession
OLDHAM’S Liberal Democrats are calling for income tax cuts to help struggling householders beat recession.

Elwyn Watkins, Lib-Dem Parliamentary spokesman for Oldham East and Saddleworth, said: “Inflation is at its highest for years. The borough’s residents are struggling with rising fuel and housing costs. They need money in their pockets now.”

The Lib-Dems want to see income tax cut by four pence in the pound, with the money lost recouped by closing the loopholes used by the most wealthy to avoid paying tax.

They also want to see an increase in the level of tax on the most polluting activities.

“Too many people are faced with the prospect of either eating properly or heating their homes,” said Councillor Watkins.

He said action was needed now to help residents struggling against raising prices, and to give the economy a boost when it is desperately needed.