Greece
UK prices down 0.2% in June, market sees smallest annual growth since 2013
UK house prices fell by 0.2% in June which meant that annual house price growth moderated to 3.3% from 4.6% in May, according to the latest index report. This takes the average price of a home to £194,258, according to the monthly index from lender Nationwide. The data also shows that in the second quarter prices increased by 1% and are up 4.1% compared to the same quarter in 2014. Eleven of the thirteen UK regions covered in the index saw a slowdown in the annual rate of growth in the second quarter of the year and it is the smallest annual rate of increase for two years. However, most parts of the country continued to see annual house price gains apart from Wales and Scotland which recorded small declines. The North remained static while Northern Ireland and London have the highest annual growth. Indeed, Northern Ireland overtook London to become the strongest performing region, with average prices up 8% year on year but prices remain around 45% below their 2007 peak. London saw a further softening in annual price growth to 7.3%, compared with 12.7% in the first quarter of the year. The Outer Metropolitan area followed closely behind, with annual price growth of 6.8%. The North was the weakest performing English region, with prices essentially unchanged compared with the same period a year ago. Wales saw a 0.8% year on year fall in average prices, similar to the previous quarter while Scotland was weakest performing region with a 1% fall in prices. ‘This maintains the gradual downward trend that has been in evidence since the middle of 2014,’ said Robert Gardner, Nationwide's chief economist, but he added that house price growth continues to outpace earnings. He also pointed out that the slowdown in house price growth is not confined to, nor does it appear to be driven primarily by, developments in London. In quarter on quarter terms, London has continued to see price growth at or above the rate in the UK overall over the past three quarters, while the annual rate of price growth in the capital remains the second highest in the country. He believes that given the gap between population growth and rates of house building, housing stock is likely to be used increasingly intensively until building activity catches up. ‘There are signs that this has been occurring, with the number of vacant properties trending down since 2008, though council tax changes in 2013 impacted reporting and probably overstate the decline in the last two years,’ Gardner explained. He added that the strong relationship between supply constraints and vacancy rates is clearly visible at the regional level. ‘As you might expect, regions where affordability is more stretched see far fewer vacancies. For example, in London, the UK region where affordability is most stretched, only 1.7% of the housing stock was vacant in 2014, around half the 3.5% rate prevailing in the North of England,’ said Gardner. ‘Given… Continue reading
Greek Real Estate Market Review By Taylor Scott International
Greek Real Estate Market Review : A frozen sector of the Greek Economy . The Greek property market has been facing a strong recession for five years, national real estate prices have hit the lowest levels of the last decade. … Continue reading
Prime rental London market sees values continue to rise
Rental values in the prime central London property market continued their recovery in February, recording their twelfth consecutive month without a decline, the latest research shows. An increase of 0.2% matched the rise in January and took annual growth to 4%, which was the highest level in more than three years, according to the report from Knight Frank. It points out that as May’s general election approaches, there is a degree of uncertainty in the sales market that has dampened activity due to the potential of a ‘mansion tax’ on properties worth more than £2 million. ‘This has benefitted the lettings market to some extent as a small but growing number of buyers and vendors hedge their bets on the outcome of the election and move into the rentals market. However, the dominant mood in the prime central London lettings market in February was also one of caution as election campaigning gathered pace, which resulted in low stock levels in some areas,’ said Tom Bill, head of London residential research at Knight Frank. He pointed out that in higher value price brackets, the mood of caution has led some landlords and tenants to explore option to buy agreements where it is mutually beneficial. ‘Though not prevalent, there is anecdotal evidence to suggest tenants have explored the try before you buy option in order to hedge against short term political uncertainty, enabling them to initially rent and buy once there is greater clarity surrounding the outcome of the election,’ he added. A breakdown of the data shows that there is some variation in rental values. In Mayfair they have declined by 1.6% and in Islington by 1.2% in the year to February 2015. Chelsea has seen a 0.2% rise and Knightsbridge a 0.5% rise while in Notting Hill they increased by 1.5%. In Belgravia rental values were up 2.7%, in South Kensington by 6.1%, in Kensington7.8%, and in Hyde Park there was growth of 8%. While St Johns Wood and Marylebone saw the highest rises at 10.8% and 12.4% respectively. The report also says that despite the hesitancy, there are grounds for optimism, including the fact new tenant registrations, viewings and the number of tenancies agreed remain strong. The buoyancy of world stock markets in February is also likely to underpin demand. The performance of the prime central London rental index has broadly tracked global stock markets in recent years and the current record levels being set, including by the FTSE100, suggest the positive upwards momentum will continue. The recent strong performance is linked to indications from the Federal Reserve that it will not rush to raise interest rates, the low oil price and the agreement between Greece and the euro zone, among other factors. Continue reading
