An example of an off-market deal, this six-bedroom, grade II listed pad set in 8½ acres in a Kentish village fetched £3.1m in August, according to the Land Registry. ‘Brexit means only the really motivated are buying,’ says Ross Davies, of Knight Frank estate agencyHouse prices may be flatlining — the value of the average property in England and Wales rose by only 0.9% in the 12 months to November, the lowest annual growth rate for seven years, according to LSL Property Services/Acadata — but there are beacons of light amid the gloom. Here are the top micro-markets of 2018. Cheap and cheerful“The strongest markets are outside the southeast, where buyers are chasing property that is the best value for money,” says Richard Donnell, insight director at Zoopla. He reports that the best-performing postcode district was M13, in central Manchester, where prices went up by 14.6% in the year to October, buoyed by first-time buyers and investors; the average home sells for £168,900.

Source: The Times December 23, 2018 00:10 UTC