Cheadle Property Market Update February 2022

Let’s be honest, February has been a rather gloomy month for many people, with the cost of everything seemingly going through the roof, from energy bills to insurances, impending rises in National Insurance and now on the back of the awful scenes and situation in Ukraine, fuel prices and inflation rising rapidly, which in turn, will no doubt lead to another interest rate rise when the Bank of England’s monetary committee meet next.  And to top it off, the weather has been pretty dismal with a series of storms that have battered the country!

Have the green shoots of recovery continued in February?

But what has February seen in the Cheadle housing market? Have the green shoots seen in January continued into February? Or was it all a false dawn?

Well, new listings were back down with 144 properties coming to the market last month, against 156 the previous February – a drop of 8% with every type of property down on the same period last year, detached and semi-detached homes, terraces and bungalows, only more flats came to the market in SK8 and SK3.

The upward pressure on prices therefore remains, with the chronic shortage of homes to buy. We have sold several homes in February, where we had oversubscribed open house events, that led to multiple offers and the final selling prices escalating way above the initial asking price.

Demand continues to outstrip supply – at least for now!

This is evidenced in our second image, which shows the average number of available properties throughout the month and the number of daily property views on Rightmove.  As you will see, last year there was an average of 588 properties available during February. This year that figure is just 388, which represents 49% less stock than in 2021, but the number of detailed daily property views has risen in 2022 from 144 to 184 an increase of 28%. So even if maths isn’t your strongpoint, you hardly need to be Albert Einstein to work out that the demand far exceeds the supply and as long as that imbalance remains, it will remain a sellers’ market.

Year on year to February, prices have increased across SK8 and SK3 around 11.9%, which is a slight drop overall, but as you can see from the next image, the prices of detached and semi-detached homes are still showing good growth, but the price of terraced houses remained static and flats dropped back a little bit recently, but the overall trend is still on an upward trajectory.

Biggest gap in the semi market which is the most in demand type of property

The final image looks at the number of properties sold in the area. Again, reflecting the lower stock levels across the board, there was a 28% drop in sales from 2021, with 144 homes sold in February 2022 as opposed to 184 in 2021. There was a significant drop in the number of semi-detached homes sold, although there were less sold of every style of property – except flats. We are noticing a significant gap in the semi market around Cheadle between £275,000 and £450,000, which ironically is what we get asked for more than any other type of property.

Some economists and housing market commentators are predicting that with the crisis now in Ukraine adding to the financial strain already put on many households, that the market could start to drop from around the end of Quarter 2 or the Summer and suggesting that 2023 is going to be a really tough year for house owners and sellers. We have just done a comprehensive video over on our Facebook page on

this very subject https://www.facebook.com/MauriceKilbrideEstateAgents/ and it is why we are recommending to those who are planning on selling in 2022, that they should seriously consider bringing those plans forward, as the fear is some people may be forced to sell and downsize with the pressure on household incomes and there suddenly become an influx of property onto the market, which could force a price correction.

If you would like an idea as to the value of your home in 2022, please call Joe, Patrick or Maurice on 0161 428 3663, e-mail sales@mkiea.co.uk or visit our website and choose from our three free valuation options online https://mkiea.co.uk/valuation/