House prices up while rents rise 45% in five years

Average house prices and rental costs have both risen over the past year, the latest figures show.

According to its Residential Property Prices Bulletin, the States of Guernsey said the average property sale price in January, February and March was £604,094, up by 4.1% compared to the same months in 2025 (£580,412).

The government said the figure, which relates to 163 property sales, was also 1.4% higher than in the last quarter of 2025 (£595,820).

Meanwhile, the average rental price was £2,170 a month, which represented a rise of 45% in the five years since quarter one of 2021 (£1,498).

The data also indicates fewer local market homes changed hands in the first quarter of 2026 than during the preceding quarter and than in the first quarter of 2025.

There was an increase in the number of open market transactions, involving properties which can be bought by people with non-resident status on the island, although the average sale price (£1.49m) did not meet previous highs.

In total, 163 local market properties were sold in Guernsey in the first quarter 2026, fewer than in the last quarter of 2025 (246) , and than in the first quarter of 2025 (166). Five years previously, in the first quarter of 2021, there were 167 transactions.

The figures show the average local market property now costs £2,170 a month to rent - 0.4% more than in the previous quarter (£2,162) and 4.9% higher than in January, February and March 2025 (£2,068).

The average value of an open market home sold in January, February and March (£1,494,188) was lower than in quarter four of 2025 (£1,560,000) and during the same months in 2025 (£1,913,438).

Follow BBC Guernsey on X and Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to channel.islands@bbc.co.uk.