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Police crime map to impact house prices?

Thursday, 3 February 2011 1:58 PM

Home movers across England and Wales are now able to find out the number of crimes recently committed in areas they are considering locating to, which some experts believe could have a negative effect on house prices.

A new crime mapping website, launched on Tuesday (February 1) by the Home Office, made the headlines when it became a victim of its own success, crashing due to extremely high demand.

It is thought that the page was receiving as many as 18 million hits an hour, more than any other government website has ever had to handle, as Brits rushed to check the levels of anti-social crime in their local area.

The maps will provide a monthly snapshot of how many burglaries, assaults and instances of anti-social behaviour have been reported across each region of England and Wales.

Andrew Turner, head of residential agency at Smiths Gore, suggested that the crime map could drive a wedge between town and country house values though.

"While it is unlikely that the publication of crime statistics will deal a blow to the property market, property valuations are likely to come under increasing scrutiny with the introduction of the crime map," he explained.

Turner added: "While we wholeheartedly agree that crime and anti-social behaviour cannot be swept under the carpet, surveyors are waiting to see if the crime map will impact on valuations to lenders.

"It is more likely to impact on towns where proximity is key compared with the rural property market where crime rates are generally lower and therefore could be a great resource for buyers looking to relocate to different towns and cities."

The expert suggested that, in this respect, it could create a greater disparity in prices between urban and rural properties.

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