Posts with tag: new listings

Property supply rises ahead of General Election

Published On: June 7, 2017 at 9:31 am

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The most recent report from HouseSimple has indicated that there was a 7% increase in property supply across the UK during May.

This increase comes after a 4% fall in April and suggests that sellers want to secure an offer before the impending General Election result in early June.

New Property Listings

Almost 80% of towns and cities covered by the report saw an increase in new property listings in May in comparison to April.

The largest rises were evident in Barnsley, Wolverhampton and Canterbury, with new listings here totalling 74.6%, 52.1% and 51.9% respectively.

However, the report does show that levels of supply have swung substantially in many areas during the last two months. Oldham and Northampton saw new listings rise significantly in April but drop in May.

In London, the ups and downs of new property supply in May across all 32 boroughs were less vivid than in April. New property listings here were up by 5.2% during the last month.

Two areas that did see significant swings were Newham and Sutton. Newham saw a rise of 23.5% in May, compared to a decline of 15.8% in April. On the other hand, Sutton saw falls of 28.1% in May, with a drop of 19.2% in April.

Property supply rises ahead of General Election

Property supply rises ahead of General Election

Uncertainty

Alex Gosling, CEO of HouseSimple noted: ‘Political and economic uncertainty surrounding a General Election can often see sellers hold off marketing until after the result is known. However, the 7% rise in May suggests many sellers aren’t waiting and marketed their properties last month to try and secure an offer before the Election result.’[1]

‘There is something to be said for doing this. The Spring period, traditionally a buoyant time for the property market, has been knocked off kilter by Article 50 being invoked and the PM calling a General Election. As a result, we could see a late Spring bounce after the Election result, with a stampede of sellers putting their properties onto the market before the summer holidays. It doesn’t give home sellers a lot of time to secure a sale and the savvy and committed seller, willing to negotiate on price could well have seen an opportunity to beat this stampede and steal a march on their competition,’ he added.[1]

[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/general-election-sparks-rise-in-property-supply.html

 

PCL lettings see strong end to 2016

Published On: February 21, 2017 at 12:18 pm

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The final three months of 2016 saw a strong growth in lettings volumes in the Prime Central London market. Activity was particularly strong at the highest and lowest end of the sector, according to the latest index from Knight Frank.

Data from the report indicates that the decline in annual rental value growth slowed marginally, down by 5% in January. In addition, there was a 5% year-on-year increase in the number of super-prime deals during 2016.

Supply

There was a 12% rise year-on-year in the supply of new listings during the final quarter of last year. However, this was lower than the 30% increase seen in the first nine months.

The largest falls in rents in the year to January 2017 were in Knightsbridge (-9.9%), followed by Notting Hill (-9.5%), Riverside (-9.3%) and South Kensington (-9%).

There were also substantial falls in Chelsea (-5.3%), Belgravia (-5.15%) and Mayfair (-3.8%).

However, other regions in Prime Central London are fairing better. City and Fringe, King’s Cross and Tower Bridge saw small year-on-year declines of 0.7%, 0.6% and 0.2% respectively.

Stronger

Tom Bill, head of London residential research at Knight Frank, observed that the annual rental value decline of 5% seen in January was marginally stronger than that seen in the two months previously.

‘Rental values have been declining since May 2015 in part due to higher levels of rental stock. The fact landlords face a less favourable tax environment from April, has contributed to the slowdown in supply to some degree,’ Bill added.[1]

He also noted that demand continues to improve in the higher and lower end of the Prime Central London market. Particularly, the above £5,000 per week market, or the super prime, is seeing sustained demand.

PCL lettings see strong end to 2016

PCL lettings see strong end to 2016

The number of new tenancies agreed in Prime Central London was 20% greater in the final quarter of 2016 in comparison to 2015. Bill believes this will put upward pressure on rental values.

‘For rental properties between £1,500 and £5,000 per week, activity is improving but remains comparatively slower. The primary cause is that budgets for senior executives at financial institutions have been reduced due to the wider mood of economic uncertainty. While the UK’s decision to leave the European Union has raised some questions over the status of London as a leading global financial centre, this trend for greater efficiency pre-dates Brexit and relates to the increased regulatory pressures on banks as well as a low interest rate environment that curbs profitability,’ Bill concluded.[1]

 

[1] http://www.propertywire.com/news/uk/lettings-volumes-prime-central-london-saw-improvement-end-2016/