
The property press is at it again, turning what should be a rather encouraging story into something approaching financial Armageddon. This morning's Hamptons report on house sale profits has been spun more times than a washing machine on its final cycle.
The headline-grabbing 'record low profits' turns out to be nothing of the sort when you dig beneath the surface. What we're actually looking at is sellers banking an average £91,000 profit on their property sales - down from £100,000 last year and £122,000 the year before. Hardly the stuff of economic nightmares, is it?
This 'record low' only stretches back to 2015, meaning we're looking at a rather modest nine-year window. Context, as ever, is everything in property reporting. The average seller is still walking away with nearly six figures of profit after holding their property for 8.9 years. Not too shabby when you consider the economic headwinds we've faced.
The Welsh warriors of Merthyr Tydfil are leading the charge, with homeowners there achieving a stonking 68% more than their purchase price. They've knocked previous champions Barking and Dagenham off their perch, proving there's serious money to be made beyond the M25.
What's particularly fascinating about this story is the media's seemingly pathological need to present everything in extremes. We appear to be stuck in a cycle where property news must either herald the end of days or promise streets paved with gold. The reality - that the market is actually ticking along rather nicely, thank you very much - doesn't seem worthy of column inches.
Perhaps we should celebrate these steady returns. After all, in a world where economic doom-mongering has become the default setting, making £91,000 profit on your property investment seems rather splendid. But I won't hold my breath waiting for the headline "Property Market Perfectly Fine, Actually" - it seems balanced reporting doesn't sell papers anymore.
The truth is, despite the sensationalist headlines, the UK property market continues to demonstrate remarkable resilience. Yes, profits aren't quite what they were at their peak, but they're still substantial enough to make property ownership a sound long-term investment.
Now there's a story worth telling - even if it won't make the front page.
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