AVERAGE house prices in Jersey dropped last year for the first time in a decade, according to new figures released today.
The cost of a property decreased by 3% during 2023, the first average drop since 2013. If new-builds were not included in the figures, the drop would have been even bigger (5%).
And overall, it was the second-highest annual price decrease since at least 1986.
However, despite the drop, housing affordability worsened, and every property type was less affordable last year than it was in 2022.
According to the report, “a working household with mean net income was able to service a mortgage affordably on the purchase price of a median-priced one-bedroom flat” and was “not able to service a mortgage affordably on the purchase price of a median-priced house of any size or a two-bedroom flat”.
Meanwhile, the number of transactions during 2023 was 43% lower than the previous year, driven by a drop in sales of all property types but in particular three- and four-bedroom houses (both down by 55%).
Last year saw the lowest annual turnover of properties since at least 2002.
