Residential Property in Guernsey
Guernsey has an area of just twenty five square miles and with a population
of 60,000, not surprisingly land is at a premium. The island is divided into
28,000 parcels of land and there are 49,000 buildings.
Although there are no restrictions on purchasing property in Guernsey, there
are restrictions on occupation. The Housing Control Law specifies who may
legally occupy property in Guernsey. In any event, any prospective resident must be a
citizen of the EC, but other nationals can apply for residency by applying to
Immigration and Nationality Department, telephone number (01481) 727926.
Housing Control Law
In the early 1960s, the island established a housing control system as a form
of population control. The Law split the housing stock into two markets, Open
Market and Local Market. Owners at that time with properties having a
certain rateable value or above, had the opportunity to register their property
on the Open market. The register however has long since been closed and no new
properties can be added to it, unless being built on the site of an existing
one.
The Housing Control Law is very complex and guidance can be obtained from the
Housing Authority on telephone no. 710631. However in general terms, anyone born
in Guernsey and spent at least ten years of their childhood here, will usually
qualify for local market status. Anyone buying an Open market property
automatically has a right to live here. There are approximately 1,800 Open
Market properties on the register and purchase prices range from around
£350,000 upwards. Children born of Open market parents, have slightly more
stringent requirements to meet, in order to qualify for Local market status in
their own right.
Local Market Essential Worker licences are also available to people whose
presence here would benefit the island. They are generally issued for terms of
up to three years. Occasionally a 15 year licence will be granted for a job
which needs someone of high calibre and vital to the island. Such licences are
now quite rare as the law stipulates that anyone living legally on the island
for 15 years, automatically gains local market status and is no longer tied to a
particular job or property. A licence is linked to a particular job and the
property to be purchased must have a specified rateable value.
2001 House Prices rise by 22%
As of January
2001, the average local market house price exceeded a staggering £200,000 for
the first time as calculated by the Housing Authority. More details .
By the
end of May it had reached £239,092 (May's figure £246,322). In July the figure
had risen to £210,000 but this was nothing compared with what was to come. By
the end of December 2001, the average local market price stood at a staggering
£245,533. See report on 2001
Local market flat
prices continue to rise with the average up to the end of May standing at
£128,886. The year on year rise is currently 20% and at current rates, a
£250,000 average price will be reached by summer 2002.
At the end of March
2001, a record price was obtained for an Open Market House. 'Le Vallon' is
a 19th century mock Gothic manor house and estate cottage built in
1660 and there is also a local market cottage. The property sits in 35 acres and
is said to have one of the prettiest gardens in the island. The last major Open
market sale was Havilland Hall three years ago for just under £5m. Open market
sales in January topped £14.66m for just 16 properties. The year to
date average to the end of March for Open market properties stood at £932,446,
but was down to £848,250 by the end of May 2001.
A development at
Charroterie by Dandara Island Homes started in 2001 provided 90 much needed
first time buyer one and two bedroom apartments starting at £105,000.
2002 House prices continue to soar
During 2002, local market house prices have continued to
soar starting the year at £245,000 and by the end of December had reached
£263,000. The average price of Flats rose by £15,000. The 40-year low in interest rates and shortage of property continues
to fuel the market.
The old Tudor House
site is being developed into offices, two retail units and 18 flats, the whole
project costing £6m with completion in 2003.
2003 started with local market prices around £264,000 and
ended with the average at £288,000 and flats at £176,000. However it was
generally agreed that common sense had returned and it had swayed to being a
buyers' market. The highest price ever paid for a local market property occurred
in November when La Ferme de Camptrehard in St Andrews fetched £1.56m. The owner
of the Open Market property Havilland Hall paid £12.5m to have life enjoyment.
2005 - Average local market price exceeds £300,000
2004 saw local market prices rise modestly from £288,000 to
a £294,000 and by the end of 2005, they had just exceeded £300,000. The market
moved along at a steady slightly healthier pace and asking prices levelled off
and in some cases dropped back slightly. A lack of buyers has slowed down the
sales process but realistically priced properties have shifted reasonably
quickly. Quarterly property sale numbers were as follows:
| Q2 2004 |
257 |
| Q3 2004 |
265 |
| Q4 2004 |
217 |
| Q1 2005 |
207 |
| Q2 2005 |
238 |
| Q3 2005 |
268 |
| Q4 2005 |
216 |
| Q1 2006 |
212 |
| Q2 2006 |
263 |
| Q3 2006 |
293 |
| Q4 2006 |
269 |
2006 - Average local market price exceeds £348,000
By the end of 2006, the average house price had risen 10%
to reach £348,125 and and the average local market apartment rose 7% to
£200,000. Meanwhile the Open Market 4-quarter moving average rose to £751,563.
Due to the large variation in prices within this relatively small market, the
moving average is the best indicator.
Note re the above graphs
Local average means that the top and bottom 2.5%
of sale prices recorded in the Greffe have been
excluded. This avoids the average local market
price being affected by unrepresentative houses
(i.e. very high prices and very low prices).
The Open Market average is a simple average of
the prices recorded. As there are fewer property
sales in this category, and because the figures
are not topped and tailed, the open market
average tends to be more volatile than the local
market average.
See the list of Guernsey
Estate Agents
Useful contacts
| States Housing Authority |
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| Tel: (01481) 710631 |
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| States Immigration Dept |
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| Tel: (01481) 727926 |
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| Environment Department & Building Control |
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| Tel: (01481) 717200 |
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Buying Property
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