Posts with tag: property

UK property supply falls by 4% in April

Published On: May 12, 2017 at 8:49 am

Tags: landlords,property,property market,supply,UK housing

The most recent UK Property Supply Index from HouseSimple.com suggests that property supply fell by 4% during April.

According to the report, a combination of poor weather and political uncertainty has put sellers off from marketing their accommodation over the last month.

Factors

Supply dropped by 4% at a time when one would expect the number of new listings to increase.

This could be due to a number of factors, such as the triggering of Article 50, the announcement of the General Election and the particularly cold weather.

The most prominent falls in supply were found in Runcorn, where levels were down by 33.9%. Doncaster also saw significant falls of 31.1%.

In order to compile its Property Supply Index, HouseSimple assessed data from over 500,000 listed properties to see the number of new properties on the market each month. This data looks at over 100 major towns and cities across the UK and across all London boroughs.

UK property supply falls by 4% in April

Capital Rises

In London, supply increased by 1.5% during April, though there were variances across boroughs. For example, Lewisham saw new listings rise by 76%, whereas Haringey saw supply slide by 21.2%.

Alex Gosling, CEO of online estate agents HouseSimple.com, noted: ‘The property market doesn’t like uncertainty and triggering Article 50 and announcing a snap General Election shortly after is a huge amount of uncertainty for sellers to digest. The good news for the property market is that this Election doesn’t appear to be a close-run affair so it’s likely that any negative impact on the property market will be short-lived.’[1]

‘If the market is a little slower up until the General Election on June 8, then it’s likely after the result is known, there will be a boost in supply, with sellers looking to find buyers before the summer kicks in and everyone heads off on holiday. But if sellers need to move then they shouldn’t hold off until after the Election hoping that market conditions will change radically after the result,’ Gosling added.[1]

[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/property-supply-fell-4-in-april.html

Rise in the number of cash property purchases

Published On: May 10, 2017 at 3:33 pm

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Property News

Tags: Cash buyers,landlords,mortgages,property,property market

There was a substantial rise in the number of home-buyers using cash in order to purchase property in the last year.

In fact, according to the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association (IMLA), mortgage lending made its smallest contribution to the financing of property acquisitions since well before the recession.

Falls

The overall percentage of mortgage funds used by buyers fell to 58.2% in the last year- substantially lower than the 76% recorded in 2006. In addition, this was lower than the 65% seen at the onset of the recession in 2008.

This means that the percentage of money spent on residential property in 2016 hit a post-recession high of 41.8%-up from 40.1% one year ago.

In total, £109bn of cash was put into purchases of residential property during the last year- a rise of 12% compared to 2015 and 57% greater than in 2013. This figure significantly outpaced the growth of mortgage lending during the respective corresponding periods.

What’s more, IMLA’s figures indicate that the total value of residential property purchases in Britain hit £261bn during 2016. £152bn of this was provided by mortgage finance.

Rise in the number of cash property purchases

Supply

Peter Williams, executive director of IMLA, said: ‘The shift towards cash is partly a consequence of trying to manage housing demand by restricting mortgage supply, with Financial Policy Committee (FPC) actions in 2014 quickly layered on top of the Mortgage Market Review (MMR) affordability rules.’[1]

Continuing, Williams said that he believes existing restrictions on mortgage lending are ‘over-zealous.’

‘The recent housing white paper was a missed opportunity to take strong action on housing supply, and we must hope that the upcoming election manifestos will be used as an opportunity to put that right. For all the focus on the UK’s international standing, Brexit mustn’t blind the next government from problems brewing on its own doorstep which will drive an increasingly bigger wedge between different elements of society and block those without family financiers from having access to home ownership,’ he concluded.[1]

[1] https://www.propertyinvestortoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2017/5/rise-in-cash-buyers-due-to-over-zealous-lending-rules

North East property prices continue to rise

Published On: May 4, 2017 at 11:29 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Property News

Tags: landlords,North East,North East property,property,property prices

Property prices in the North East have defied forecasts of a worsening UK economy to post their strongest month-on-month growth this year to date.

House values in the region rose by 1.9% during April, adding an average of £3,099 to the price of a typical property.

In March in February, prices slipped by 0.1% and in January, by 3.1%.

Values

Average regional property prices in the region are now 6% higher than 12 months ago, with the typical value standing at £9,591 greater than in April 2016.

An average North East home will currently set one back £166,566, in comparison to £163,467 at the end of March.

18 of 20 North East regions saw prices rise, with strong performances recorded in South Shields (5.4%), Blyth (4.7%) and Kilingworth and Easington (3.2%).

The only areas to see falls were Cramlington (-0.9%) and Jarrow (-0.3%.)

North East property prices continue to rise

Rents

In terms of rents, these rose by £585 in April-a rise of £9.

Increasing property prices have forced rental yields downward slightly. Property investors in the region are now seeing average returns of 4.2%.

Investors in the North East are continuing to see higher returns than those in London, where yields stand at 3.2% typically.

Good News

Ajay Jagota, founder and MD of Keep It Simple and Dlighted, said: ‘After three months of negative growth it’s very good news to see North East house prices making up lost ground over the past four weeks and in a markedly stronger position than twelve months ago, with prices the best part of £10,000 higher than this time last year.’[1]

‘The run up to a General Election generally means flat house prices as buyers and sellers adopt a ‘wait and see’ approach, and even though this election has come slightly out of the blue I’d expect to see the same thing happen in May and June, with prices moving forward again come the summer, a traditionally strong period.

Average asking prices for UK homes this week reached £313,000, all but double the North East average. When you combine that with historically low mortgage deals currently available for both owner-occupiers and investors, the North East remains a phenomenally good value location to make a home or invest in one,’ Jagota added.[1]

[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/north-east-house-prices-rally-as-election-announced.html

Older property purchasers more deterred by Brexit threat

Published On: April 26, 2017 at 10:02 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Property News

Tags: Brexit,landlords,property,property market

A new survey has revealed that uncertainty surrounding Brexit is impacting more on young home buyers than older ones.

An investigation commissioned by property consultants Cluttons found that 63% of 18-24 year olds has reconsidered buying a home after becoming disillusioned with the economic outlook.

However, the OnePoll survey found that older people were not as deterred, with 82.07% of those aged 55+ saying that Brexit has not impacted on them at all.

Regional Uncertainty

By location, people in Oxford were found to be the most concerned of the impact of a weaker post-Brexit economy, with 80% of people here saying they were reconsidering a property purchase. This is well above the national average of 53.7%.

Those in Yorkshire and Norwich were also found to be wary about purchasing in the midst of Brexit uncertainty. 72.7% and 72.2% respectively in these regions said that they were considering moving house.

Overall, 35% of those asked said they were looking to either move or upgrade their property. 72% of people said that Brexit did not impact on their intention to purchase.

78% of those in the South East said they had not been deterred by purchasing property as a result of Brexit, followed by 77% in the Midlands, 75% in Scotland and 73% in Wales.

Older property purchasers more deterred by Brexit threat

Chance

The poll also revealed that 29% of the total UK residents surveyed agreed that they found the Brexit decision was a chance to capitalise on an ailing market.

Faisal Durrani, head of research at Cluttons, said: ‘Brexit has undoubtedly fuelled economic anxiety across the country. That said, it is encouraging to note that despite heated discussions in the wake of the Brexit referendum results, it’s clear that home buyers have not been deterred by political events in Westminster.’[1]

[1] http://www.propertywire.com/news/uk/brexit-affected-younger-buyers-uk-majority-not-deterred/

UK house prices rise by 5.8% in year to February- ONS

Published On: April 11, 2017 at 1:56 pm

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Property News

Tags: house prices,landlords,property,property price growth

The latest figures from the Office of National Statistics reveal that average house prices in Britain rose by 5.8% in the year to February 2017. This took the average value of a property in the UK to £217,502.

This was up from the 5.3% year-on-year growth seen in year to January 2017, but is still below the average house price growth of 7.3% seen in 2016.

Regional Rates

Further analysis of the figures indicate that prices by country in the UK rose by:

England- 5.8%
Wales- 1.8%
Scotland- 3.1%
Northern Ireland- 5.7%

As such, the average value in these countries stands at:

England- £234,466
Wales- £145,293
Scotland- £139,000
Northern Ireland- £125,000

The East of England saw the highest annual growth, with values rising by 10.3% year-on-year to February. This was followed by the East Midlands with 7.5% and West Midlands with 7%. On the other hand, the lowest annual growth was seen in the North East, where prices rose by 2.2%.

UK house prices rise by 5.8% in year to February- ONS

Supply

Nicholas Finn, executive director of Garrington Property Finders, feels that the gently increasing rate of price growth is welcome but it should not be confused with robust health in the property market.

He notes that this is, ‘symptom of the chronic lack of supply,’ with, ‘the number of homes for sale still very limited in many areas.’[1]

‘Although there are increasing numbers of committed and motivated buyers coming to market, they remain deeply price sensitive and will happily walk away from properties they feel are overpriced,’ he explained.[1]

Competition

Mr Finn also pointed out that mid-priced properties are attracting fierce competition, with not enough stock to appease all would-be buyers. However, at the top end of the market, buyers can enjoy substantial discounts.

‘With consumer price inflation holding steady in March, the Bank of England will continue to delay any interest rate rise for as long as possible, leaving the way clear for the property market to continue its slow upward progress,’ he added.[1]

Doug Crawford, chief executive officer of My Home Move, observed: ‘There is a bit of regional variation at play, with the areas that have seen substantial house price growth in recent years cooling off, notably London and the South East. Arguably this is needed to counteract some of the rapid growth over recent years.’[1]

‘The fact is that the fundamentals are in place for a solid year for the housing market, with robust levels of demand significantly outstripping supply. The biggest obstacle for a happy housing market remains the access to the first step of the housing ladder for first time buyers, even in areas where the market is cooler,’ he added.[1]

[1] http://www.propertywire.com/news/uk/average-house-prices-uk-5-8-year-year-led-east-england/

UK property supply increases for third straight month

Published On: April 5, 2017 at 9:51 am

Author: Em Morley

Categories: Property News

Tags: Buy-to-Let,housing market,new property listings,property

UK property supply increased by 3.7% month-on-month in March, according to the latest report from House Simple. This was the third straight month in which supply has risen.

This said, new listings in the capital fell flat during the last month, sliding by 0.3% over the period. The largest falls were experienced in Lewisham and Hounslow, with new listings dropping by 41.4% and 40% respectively.

Rises

When London is excluded from the findings, UK property supply actually rose by 10.3%, which is a firm example of the divide being seen across Britain.

In fact, listings increased in more than three quarters of UK towns and cities in March. Stirling and Dundee, both in Scotland saw the largest rises in supply, with 87.8% and 70.9%.

Of the 25% of cities and towns that saw a fall in supply during March, Telford saw the largest drop, with figures down by 23.3%. Barnsley and Warrington also saw substantial falls, of 13.9% and 12.1% respectively.

UK property supply increases for third straight month

Selling Season

Alex Gosling, CEO of House Simple, observed: ‘Although new listings were up in March, we’d have hoped to see more sellers, particularly in London, putting their homes on the market as we enter the Spring’s peak property selling season.’[1]

‘We need a supply boost in April, because the demand from buyers remains strong and thanks to the continued competitive mortgage deals still on offer, they are more than committed to purchasing,’ he added.[1]

[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/uk-property-supply-rises-for-third-consecutive-month.html