Blog: The cost of housing in Jersey is beyond a joke
I've just moved house and it's really hit home how ridiculous house prices are in Jersey. Over the years I've reported a lot on the subject and generally speaking there's a pattern. You see a continual rise in prices, and then every decade or so, there's a period where prices level off, before increasing again for another 10 years. Only in the last recession in 2009, did prices noticeably fall, and even then, it was hardly a crash.
According to the latest house price index, which looks at how prices stood by the end of March 2020, the average price for a three bedroom house is £649,000 and nearly a million pounds for a four bed. The data for April - June isn't out yet but I bet that while transactions will be down, prices will have remained buoyant. I say this from experience.
We sold our house last week, and in just six years it increased in value by 50% and we were told that if we were greedy, we could've obtained more for it due to the lack of family houses. You'd think I'd be pleased to have benefited from an inflated market but it deeply concerns me for two reasons: 1) The inflation applies when you move up the ladder, and more importantly 2) I worry about how on earth my son will be able to afford to live in the island if prices continue in this way.
Despite predictions that coronavirus would cause house prices to come crashing down by as much as 14%, quite the opposite has happened. Since lock-down restrictions were eased, the market has gone wild. Estate Agents are run off their feet, lenders, lawyers and surveyors are swamped, and removals companies are booked up for weeks. The reasons, I'm told, are varied. Some of it is down to a backlog of transactions that built up during lock-down. Some of it is a case of people wanting to sell before a perceived crash. And a large part is down to people spending so much time in quarantine that they realise their house no longer serves them. Many agents have told me more islanders are now looking for a study or larger garden for example.
I know that was our motivation; more outside space. Both my husband and I grew up in rural England and we were keen to get back into the countryside when the opportunity came up. Certainly quarantine confirmed that, particularly with a very active toddler to keep busy. Anyway, I digress. The point is, prices remain high, but for how long? If the pattern is accurate, we could be due for another plateau in the next year or two. We know there have been job losses in the lower paid sectors like retail and hospitality, but will that impact house prices? I'm guessing not, if the majority of those workers rent. It will all depend on how coronavirus affects the finance sector and if large numbers of redundancies happen, then that's likely to filter down to the housing market.
But this wouldn't solve the perpetual problem of the lack of affordable housing in Jersey. And that problem will never be solved until we address the fundamental issue of under supply and over demand. It's a complex issue that will need big strategic thinking when it comes to population control, island wide planning and the building of affordable housing. Quite frankly I'm glad that's not my job! My job at the moment is dealing with the mountain of stuff that's currently stacked up in our garage.
It's a reminder of the material goods you accumulate over the years, that you really don't miss when packed away in boxes. I imagine I'll be putting up a lot of things on Jersey Ecycle in the coming weeks. That, plus sorting through the obligatory drawers of rubbish... the latest one I discovered contains a light-bulb, dog poo bags, a glue stick, keys for which I cannot find a purpose, cold and flu medicine and ear drops. All of life's essentials. Now all the government needs to do is provide as many islanders as possible with life's real essential - affordable housing. I know which task I'd rather sort out...