What will happen to property this year? The weird housing trends we can expect to see more of in 2019

Several new property trends emerged last year, from property raffles to letting the ultra-wealthy try super-luxe homes before buying. Here's what we expect to see more of in 2019. 
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A slowing property market threw up all sorts of unexpected property stories in 2018.

With Brexit on the near horizon and furious house price rises a thing of the past — for now — should we expect to see these one-offs turn into trends?

London first-time buyer deposits hit £115,000

Average house prices in the capital may be faltering but that didn’t stop first-time buyer deposits hitting an eye-watering £114,952 in August last year, according to Halifax.

What could you buy with the average London deposit?

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This equates to a 27 per cent deposit on a typical first home.

Outside London the sum is enough to buy a smart three-bedroom house in Scarborough, a two-bedroom cottage in the Midlands or a two-bedroom flat in Norfolk, outright but even with faltering house prices in London will probably only stretch to a two-bed flat with a mortgage in the capital.

Property raffles

2018 was the year property raffles took off in earnest, as sellers struggled to achieve the prices they expected for their homes.

From F1 boss Eddie Jordan raffling a Tooting flat he was renovating, to a family offering £25 tickets for their Maida Vale mansion flat, sellers determined to achieve a certain price were turning to games of chance to raise more cash than they’d get on the open market.

Whether or not it’ll work for the majority of them remains to be seen. Some rafflers have already fallen foul of a dearth of participating payment processing platforms; Gambling Commission rules; or a failure to drum up enough interest in their competition.

Bag a £2m South Kensington flat for £10 – and more raffle homes

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Time warp interiors

Among all of the contemporary renovations and ambitious extensions doing the rounds, it’s easy to forget that some people’s lives – and homes – remain resolutely in another era.

These "time capsule" properties have remained in the hands of the same families or owners for multiple decades.

In Lincolnshire, a 1940s time warp house with a bomb shelter in the garden went up for sale with a guide price of £90,000 earlier this year, while this extraordinary Art Deco Essex house, virtually unchanged since the Thirties, went to auction in August.

Inside the Sunspan house — and more 'time capsule' homes for sale

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Sea views – continue to come at a price

A public toilet went up for sale for £400,000 in the trendy beach town of Margate, in Kent.

It was being sold with planning permission to convert it into a modern beach house complete with ‘beach cave’ right on the seafront.

But the loo with a view can’t compare with the Dorset beach hut which went on sale for a record-breaking £300,000, despite having no toilet or electricity.

'Try before you buy' homes

In London’s troubled pre-Brexit market, potential buyers of mega-luxury mansions have been offered the chance to ‘try before they buy’ and rent the budget-busting properties before committing.

One of the biggest deals of its kind, a £76.5 million mansion opposite Buckingham Palace was rented out for £47,000-a-week – almost twice the average national salary.