5.4% more transactions than national average in high-risk areas
Areas with high flood risk* saw 5.4% more property transactions than the UK average since 2013, according to new research released today from Groundsure.
Groundsure used Land Registry and Environment Agency data in order to compare levels of property activity within river and coastal flood risk areas** to those with none. The research also found that areas with low to moderate flood risk saw 2% greater activity than those without.
Flood risk is a growing issue, with Environment Agency data for the last 50 years showing a steady increase of events. Records also indicate that summer flooding is on the rise with the 10-year average of events reaching a 50 year high of 12.9*** per year in 2014. Summer events have recently affected 8 areas of the UK, where The Environment Agency have issued flood alerts.
Dan Montagnani, Managing Director at Groundsure said: “Despite anticipated difficulty in selling properties prone to flooding, relatively high turnover is seen, suggesting that flood risk may have a negative effect on the long-term enjoyment of a property. This highlights a possible lack of homebuyer awareness.”
Montagnani added: “The trend for the last 50 years would suggest that, in future, areas at risk are likely to encounter more incidents than they have in the past. It’s recommended to listen to advice from the Environment Agency and we’d strongly advise any new home owners to fully understand and deal with any flood risks before they buy.”
As well as flood risk assessments, Groundsure works to help solicitors, homebuyers, businesses, consultants, surveyors and lenders make more informed property-transaction decisions. They offer precise, up-to-date environmental-report data and expert insight and opinion.
*All references to “Risk” refer to risk as defined by the Environment Agency’s ‘Risk of Flooding from Rivers and Sea’ (RoFRaS) dataset, and specifically the postcode release.
**Groundsure used Land Registry data detailing residential property transactions and split this by different levels of river and coastal flood risk. The number of households in these areas (taken from census data) was then used to normalise the data to allow statistical comparison. The resulting percentage is essentially the number of property sales per household.
***This figure has been bolstered by summer floods in 2012 and particularly in 2007, but had previously remained largely between 1 and 5 over the last 50 years.
This article was submitted to be published by Groundsure as part of their advertising agreement with Today’s Conveyancer. The views expressed in this article are those of the submitter and not those of Today’s Conveyancer.
