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House prices in Bolton are rising – making it less affordable to buy a home, figures reveal. But a borough estate agents has said these hikes are becoming more "gradual". It cost £189,000 to buy a mid-price home in the borough last year to September, over £6,000 more than in 2023, according to the Office of National Statistics (ONS).
But people’s pay packets only grew by £250 at this median range. These homes remained some of the cheapest in Greater Manchester – but only ranked fifth out of the 10 counties for how affordable they actually are, with Oldham being the most affordable. Still, prices for these houses are growing at a slower rate.
Last year, they rose £1,500 compared to the year before. Andrew Cardwell , managing director of Cardwells Estate Agents, said: “Recently, we’ve seen the price of properties grow more gradually than the sharp rises that occurred immediately after the pandemic.” He’s seen interest rates reduce, which he says is a positive sign.
He said: “Interest rates are one of the housing market’s driving factors. "Currently the base interest rate is at 4.5 per cent.
That’s almost a per cent less than last August. “Reduced interest rates will help anyone seeking a mortgage – including people buying their first home. “Another thing that has helped first-time homebuyers is that landlords, property developers and speculators now have to pay significantly more in stamp duty or tax to buy an additional property.
“This has contributed to there being fewer landlords buying houses and eased the competition for first-time homebuyers.” Bolton’s mid-range houses became slightly less affordable last year, falling nearly .1 point to an affordability ratio of 6.
2. The borough’s cheapest homes became harder to afford, nearly matching 2021. Lower-priced homes cost £137,000.
This was only up by £7,500, similar to 2023. But lower earners took home over £900 less in pay after a wage hike of over £4,000 the year before. Still, Andrew said Bolton’s property market is built on "strong foundations" with an "eclectic mix" of homes for "every budget".
And he said he is seeing more new properties listed on the market. He added: “As interest rates get gradually lower and cost-of-living crises seems to slowly diminish, signs are very positive. “We at Cardwells have seen noticeably more new instructions to the sales market in the first three months of this year, surpassing the same time last year.
“So, buyers hopefully have some choice. “That said, there’s certainly not an oversupply [of houses], but the investment in new homes in our town has been encouraging. “Many of these have been apartments, which are often not ideal for families.
“In the long term, I’d expect to see significant growth in homes’ average price, but for the short term, the reduction in interest rates can only be helpful.”.
