The Bricks&Logic house price Heat Map

Following the pandemic, there was a surge in demand for homes with gardens and home offices, popularly known as the "race for space". It was commonly believed that demand for these properties in rural areas had increased relative to their urban counterparts. However, little attention was given to how demand for properties in the same location varied based on their attributes. The reason for this was the complex analysis required, until now.

Figures 01 and 02 shows the Bricks&Logic heat map displaying sale price changes in Greater London between April 2020 and September 2021. Figure 01 shows the performance of houses with gardens, while the Figure 02 depicts the equivalent performance of flats with no outdoor space.

It is evident that houses outperformed flats during this period, with houses experiencing nearly universal increases in value across London, while flats in the city centre saw decreases and only experienced slight rises at the periphery.

Heat maps of average house prices often display large uniform colours around the rest of the country outside of London, with distribution of values being distorted by incredibly high prices in certain areas of the capital. 

With the Bricks&Logic heat map, however, you can adjust the scale to obtain the desired information.

The images here (Figures 03-05) illustrates the average sale price of properties with three different scales: 

• Fig. 03: Scale set to the minimum and maximum observed
• Fig. 04: Scale set to range of £250,000 - £750,000
• Fig. 05: Scale set to £150,000 to £500,000

By modifying the scale to match the region being examined, we can clearly identify house price hot spots in each area. 

This approach provides a more accurate representation of the distribution of house prices and facilitates more informed decision-making for prospective buyers and sellers

At Bricks&Logic, we offer the ability to search every property in England and Wales, not just those available for sale or rent. For instance, if you are planning to move to Manchester and want to find a good area to rent, you can use our platform to set up filters based on your requirements. You can then narrow down your rental search and even share your details with our Partner Estate Agents in the area to help you find the right property.

For example, let's consider the average rental price for flats with specific filters in place:

• Modern build
• At least 2 bedrooms and 750ft² of space
• Includes some form of outdoor area
• Maximum rental value of £1200 per calendar month

Our heat map (Fig. 06) then provides a quick visualisation of the availability of these types of properties (grey areas indicate a lack of properties matching your filter) and their relative cost across different areas. This approach streamlines the search process and enhances the decision-making capabilities of buyers and renters.

In today's world, companies are eager to showcase how they are incorporating Machine Learning, Big Data, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in their operations. However, these buzzwords and techniques can often be confusing for people. At Bricks&Logic we aim to be transparent with our approach to using these technologies to make them more accessible and trusted in a world where they are not commonly used.

If you would like a more in depth description about this process, then please do read our detailed blog on our approach to creating property level indices. 

However, a short overview of the steps are to:

• Understand the nature of every property.
• Examine the trends in price movements for different types of properties and locations.
• Analyse the location and type of each property and consider all relevant information to make an informed decision about its price movement.
• Aggregate the movements of all properties in a given location.

For instance, if we were analysing a mid-century flat with a garden in Norwich, we would examine property prices in Norwich, the demand for flats over time in Norwich and surrounding areas, and trends for properties with gardens both locally and nationally. By combining all of this information, we can make a decision about how the price is moving for that specific property.

One of the questions we are frequently asked is, "How up-to-date is your data?" This query often arises due to the well-known fact that sale prices in the Land Registry are often delayed by months. However, we are fortunate to have access to a comprehensive dataset from our Estate Agent partners that enables us to keep our finger on the pulse of the property market as much as possible. For instance, in our January market update, you can observe how we captured the declining market following the infamous "mini budget" well before these prices appeared in the Land Registry index (Fig. 07).

Until now communicating what is happening in the market has been a very confusing process. Currently visual representations of the property market are usually limited by:

• Time lag between property sale and registration with Land Registry can result in outdated data
• Lack of detail in Land Registry data (only sale price recorded, not property condition or features) can limit accuracy, particularly in areas with diverse property types or varying levels of refurbishment
• Limited number of property sales in some areas can make it challenging to create accurate heat maps with sufficient granularity

The Bricks&Logic heat map solves all of these problems meaning communicating and understanding the market has never been easier.

At Bricks&Logic we have created the UK's most accurate and interactive house price heat map by utilising advanced statistical techniques and big data. 

This heat map offers a more granular and detailed view of the property market compared to traditional approaches, providing users with the ability to explore various features such as sale, rental, and yield values, visualisations of sale and rental value movements over time, and filtering by unique attributes. 

The Bricks&Logic heat map can adapt to accurately portray house prices and offers comprehensive property search and visualisation. By solving the problems of outdated data, lack of detail, and limited sales, our house price heat map is a game-changer in the property market. It provides a transparent and accessible application for both the general public and professionals to make informed decisions based on the latest data.

Try it for yourself. Login to get a simple valuation report.

If you would like to find out more about the Bricks&Logic Heat Map or how else Bricks&Logic could help your business please book a demo via our professional page.