Bad weather and an early Easter may have had an impact on the growth of the Guernsey property market, with figures from the Residential Property Prices Bulletin for the first quarter of 2018 reflecting a drop in the House Price Index.
Activity within the local market was down in comparison to the same period in 2017, with the average price of property also dropping 3.2 per cent from the last quarter of last year.
These results follow two strong quarters of growth, with property specialists believing the market had finally turned a corner.
A cold start to the year, coupled with early Easter holidays took their toll on market activity, with 23 fewer transactions taking place than was recorded in the last quarter of 2017. The average purchase price of property sits at £407,288 as at 31 March 2018, compared with £432,341 in 2017.
However, property purchase bond numbers have continued to rise for the year to April, up two per cent against the same period in 2017. Overall, 2017 purchase bonds were more than a third higher than 2015, which marked a low point in the market.
Nigel Pascoe, Director of Lending at Skipton International, said: “These results are disappointing, especially because we still feel there is a positive outlook for Guernsey property. It is important not to view this one quarter as a reflection of the market but to look at the bigger picture, which is one of growth."