Posts with tag: property supply

Housing Demand is Currently at a 12-Month Low

Published On: September 29, 2017 at 10:25 am

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Housing Demand is Currently at a 12-Month Low

Housing Demand is Currently at a 12-Month Low

Housing demand is currently at a 12-month low, according to the August Housing Report from NAEA Propertymark (the National Association of Estate Agents).

Housing demand 

As holidaymakers set off abroad last month, the average number of house hunters registered at estate agent branches dropped to a 12-month low, at 343. This was down from 347 in July, but up from 284 in June.

The level of housing demand hasn’t been this low since last August (2016), when estate agents had an average of 287 house hunters registered per branch.

Property supply

However, the average number of properties available to buy on estate agents’ books increased marginally in August, from 35 in July to 37.

Sales agreed

The proportion of sales agreed to first time buyers remained at 23% in August, having fallen from 30% in June.

As expected during the summer, the amount of sales agreed per estate agent branch also remained low in August, with eight on average per branch.

The Chief Executive of NAEA Propertymark, Mark Hayward, says: “House hunters tend to put their plans on hold over the summer months while they prioritise holidays and, as a result of this trend, stock is usually lower. However, while we saw the number of properties available increase very marginally last month, it wasn’t remotely enough to start to close the gap between supply and demand. We shouldn’t take August’s decline as a sign of things to come – we’ll see the market bounce back in September and ramp up towards the end of the year as house buyers desperately try to complete transactions before Christmas.”

NAEA Propertymark’s partner organisation, ARLA Propertymark (the Association of Residential Letting Agents), has recently revealed its latest report for the lettings sector, also for August. Read the figures and compare the two markets online here: https://www.justlandlords.co.uk/news/tenants-continue-face-rising-rents/

Rents continue to be driven by lack of supply

Published On: July 28, 2017 at 8:46 am

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A severe shortage of properties available continues to push rental prices upwards across the UK, according to the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA).

Over a quarter of letting agents saw rents rise during June, despite a rare increase in supply of rental stock. There was a 31% rise in agents reporting rental rises during the month – the highest level since April 2016.

Supply and Demand

During the past year, the supply of rental stock has increased by 8%, with letting agent managing 190 properties on average per branch in June. Demand slipped however, with an average of 61 new tenants registered per branch – a fall from 65 in April and May.

Landlords are facing more and more pressure, following a raft of recent alterations aimed at halting the rush of investors. These include the 3% stamp duty surcharge and the phasing out of mortgage interest tax relief.

Rents continue to be driven by lack of supply

Rents continue to be driven by lack of supply

David Cox, Chief Executive of ARLA, observed: ‘With the cost of living on the rise and inflationary pressures tightening, the last thing tenants need is for their rents to continue rising.’

‘However, the fact that supply looks to be rising, while demand has dropped slightly indicates a move in the right direction for the market. Ultimately, to stop rent prices from increasing too much, we need to find the balance between supply and demand,’ he added.[1]

 

[1] https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2017/7/housing-shortage-drives-up-rents

 

 

 

Rents carry on rising as supply falls

Published On: May 16, 2017 at 9:10 am

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The number of new properties coming onto the market was down again during April, according to the most recent RICS Residential Market Survey.

This marked the fourth consecutive month of lower supply, which is subsequently putting severe pressure on rental values across Britain.

What’s more, tenant demand was also slightly down in the first three months of 2017.

Stock

A lack of housing stock continues to be a real challenge for the sector. Simon Rubinsohn, RICS chief economist, feels tax changes are having a material effect on transaction levels, especially at the top end of the market.

Mr Rubisohn said: ‘It is noticeable in the April report that the amount of new rental instructions coming through to agents is continuing to edge lower which is not altogether surprising given the changing landscape for buy-to-let investors.’[1]

Rents carry on rising as supply falls

Rents carry on rising as supply falls

‘One consequence of this is that rents are expected to continue rising not just in the near term but also further out and at a faster pace than house prices,’ he continued.[1]

In addition, the figures seen in the report revealed that buyer interest, alongside the volume of property sales, continued to drop. This suggests that volume of homes being listed to let is not likely to increase at anytime in the near future.

Stephen Wasserman, managing director of West One Loans, observed: ‘There is a persistent supply and demand issue in the UK’s housing market and this is creating an increasingly competitive environment.’[1]

[1] https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2017/5/rents-are-expected-to-continue-rising-as-supply-falls

 

Rental Market had a Robust November

Published On: December 15, 2016 at 10:19 am

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Following a decline in activity over October, the rental market had a robust November, according to the latest Property Activity Index from Agency Express.

Across the UK, the number of properties coming onto the rental market rose by 13.9%, while the amount of properties let dropped by just 1%.

The increase in supply appears consistent with recent data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), which shows that landlords borrowed £3 billion in October, up by 7% on the previous month.

Rental Market had a Robust November

Rental Market had a Robust November

Nationally, nine of the 12 regions included in the Property Activity Index experienced increases in new properties to let and seven reported growth in the number of properties let.

November’s top performing region was the North West, with new listings rising by a huge 29.3% and properties let by 9.1%, marking the region’s greatest month-on-month increase for November since 2013.

Other prominent performers last month include:

Properties to let 

  • South East: +49%
  • South West: +29%
  • Wales: +20.5%
  • North East: 15.8%
  • East Anglia: +12%

Properties let 

  • Yorkshire and the Humber: +7.1%
  • East Anglia: +6.7%
  • East Midlands: +5%

The largest declines in this month’s index were seen in central England. The number of new property listings dropped by 5.2%, while the amount of properties let fell by 6.8%. However, over a three-month rolling period, figures remained resilient, with new listings up by 4.4% and properties let by 0.7%.

Stephen Watson, the Managing Director of Agency Express, comments on the data: “A robust comeback of the UK rental market this month. Following what was an unexpectedly slow October, the increase in this month’s figures has redressed the balance.

“Now we move into December, where a seasonal slowdown is expected. It will be interesting to see how the year end figures stand.”

Have your buy-to-let investment habits picked up again over the past month or so? The CML recently painted a picture of the average UK landlord and their trends: /cml-paints-picture-average-uk-landlord/

Property supply falls in the UK during October

Published On: November 3, 2016 at 11:19 am

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New research has revealed that four out of five UK towns and cities saw a fall in property supply during October.

Data from the report by HouseSimple.com also shows that the number of new listings were down by 6.9%.

Falls

During September, supply levels increased after the summer’s traditional lull. In October however, new listings slipped in a huge 81% of towns and cities.

The greatest falls were recorded in Swansea and Stirling, where property listings fell by 52% and 37.7% respectively on the previous month.

In order to complete the Index, HouseSimple looked at data from more than 500,000 listed properties to track the number of new properties coming to market in over 100 towns and cities. In addition, the survey looked at all London boroughs.

The table below indicates where the sharpest falls in new listings in UK towns and cities were recorded during October:

Town/City Region % fall in new listings in October vs. September
Swansea Wales -52%
Stirling Scotland -37.7%
Stevenage South East -36.4%
Winchester South -35.7%
Carlisle North West -34.7%
Hereford West Midlands -33.3%
Torquay South West -31.8%
Solihull West Midlands -31.3%
Chelmsford East -30%
Perth Scotland -30%

[1]

Property supply falls in the UK during October

Property supply falls in the UK during October

Activity

Alex Gosling, CEO of online estate agents HouseSimple.com, notes: ‘At this time of year we’d expect to see committed sellers rushing to put their properties on the market before the traditionally quieter period kicks in as we get closer to Christmas. The weather has also been unseasonably mild recently, and that should be encouraging sellers to list their houses as it presents an opportunity to show off their property in the best possible light.’[1]

‘Instead, we have seen new listings stall in October, with supply down in four out of five UK towns and cities. This might simply be a correction after September saw a surge in new properties coming onto the market and the overall drop in property supply is still less than 2% in October compared to September,’ he continued.[1]

Looking forwards, Gosling observed: ‘We may need to wait until the New Year now to see market activity pick up. But there will always be people that have to sell their properties in November and December, and that could mean opportunities to negotiate a good deal for buyers who have their finance in place and are ready to proceed.’[1]

[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/property-supply-down-across-uk-in-october.html

 

Property supply falls in 50% in UK towns and cities

Published On: June 14, 2016 at 10:07 am

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Concerning data has revealed that more than half of towns and cities in the UK saw a fall in property supply during May.

The report from HouseSimple does show however that overall supply has risen by 4.8%.

Property supply falls

According to the investigation, the largest falls were seen in Southport and Loughborough, where supply was down by 28% and 24.1% respectively.

Of the areas that saw a fall in supply, 47% were in the North of England.

In terms of increases, Litchfield in the West Midlands recorded the largest rise of 55.8% in May, in comparison to April. Chesterfield (35.7%) and Rugby (32.5%) were other regions that saw marked increases over the same period.

One-third of areas showing the largest increases in supply were in the Midlands.

Despite a fall in supply in property in the capital, 53% of the 32 boroughs of London saw a rise in new housing listings. Of these, the largest rise was seen in Waltham Forest with 31% month-on-month. Merton saw supply rise by 30%.

Property supply falls in 50% in UK towns and cities

Property supply falls in 50% in UK towns and cities

Listings

Alex Gosling, CEO of House Simple, said, ‘although property supply was up in May, in large swathes of the country, the number of new properties listed fell. Could this be due to the Brexit effect? The scare tactics on both sides of the EU referendum debate are likely to be chipping away at the confidence of buyers and sellers. And with the Brexit vote less than three weeks away, we could well see a significant drop off in activity at a time when historically there is a lot of activity in the property market.’[1]

‘On the flip side, this could actually provide an opportunity for prospective buyers, who have their finance in place and can move fast, as they may be able to negotiate a good deal with motivated sellers keen to tie up a sale before 23rd June,’ he added.[1]

[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/over-50-of-uk-towns-saw-property-supply-fall-in-may.html