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Scottish farmland values static in first half of 2016
The value of Scottish farmland remained virtually static in the first half of 2016, down just 0.2% to £4,357 per acre, according to the latest sector index. Year on year values are down 1.7% but up 26% over five years, up 169% over 10 years and up 174% over 20 years, the data from the Knight Frank Scottish Farmland Index shows. A breakdown of the figures show that good quality arable land remains at £9,046 per acre, while the price of permanent pasture fell fractionally to £2,719 per acre and overall despite prices holding up, there has been relatively little market activity in 2016. ‘There have been very few farms sold so far this year, and fewer than usual were launched around the time of the Royal Highland Show, which is the point the market here traditionally gets going,’ said Tom Stewart-Moore, head of Scottish farm sales at Knight Frank. ‘We are still talking to potential vendors who had just got to grips with the result of the recent reform of the Common Agricultural Policy and Land Reform, but until they get a better feel for what Brexit means for the Scottish agricultural industry they are wary of committing to a sale,’ he explained. ‘Combined with the continued slump in commodity values, many people were expecting a rush of farms to the market in 2016 and a subsequent drop in prices,’ he pointed out, adding that low interest rates mean there have been very few forced sales so far. He also pointed out that demand for good quality arable and livestock units is definitely outstripping supply and demand also remains strong for amenity and sporting estates. Knight Frank recently sold the 6,500 acre Kinnaird Estate in Perthshire for in excess of its £9.6 million guide price and an 8,000 acre stalking estate in Sutherland, which is due to launch soon, is expected to be another good test of the market. ‘Although Scotland did not vote for Brexit, the slide in the value of Sterling since the referendum makes land here better value than it was before the vote so I’m expecting more interest from overseas buyers,’ said Stewart-Moore. ‘Despite uncertainty in the economy, the value of the pound and volatility in the stockmarket, land is still seen as a very safe investment,’ he added. Continue reading
New UK residential listings bounce back after downturn in June due to EU vote
New properties listed for sale in the UK increased by 3.4% in July with 62% of towns and cities seeing an increase in supply July compared to the previous month, the latest research shows. The biggest rise was recorded in Durham with a rise of 51%, followed by Hartlepool with an increase of 32.5% and Hemel Hempstead up by 31.7%, according to the figures from online estate agents HouseSimple. London’s property supply was up 13.7% in July, with Bexley, Greenwich and Lambeth seeing new property listings rise 44.1%, 41.3% and 40.5% respectively. The index report suggests that home owners don’t appear to be too worried about the possibility of falling property prices, as July saw new property listings bounce back from June when they fell by 7.3% across the country and by 12.8% in London. However, despite the majority of towns and cities experiencing a boost in supply in July, more than a third experienced significant falls in new properties listed, including Bootle, where listings fell by 30.8% in July and Chichester with a fall of 27.7%. ‘It has been business as usual after Brexit in terms of activity, with many sellers who were waiting on the result of the Referendum, now actively marketing their properties. The reality is that people need to sell for a whole host of reasons, and delaying post-Brexit is simply not an option if people are relocating for work or family reasons,’ said Alex Gosling, the firm’s chief executive officer. ‘On the ground, what was probably a sellers’ market before the vote is now going to be a more level playing field. That doesn’t mean that quality properties in desirable areas won’t still sell for close to or at asking price, but buyers are holding a few more cards now, and motivated sellers may need to more flexible on price negotiations,’ he added. Continue reading
Property prices in Ireland fall month on month for first time since January
Residential property prices in Ireland fell by 0.1% in June, the first monthly fall since January, but are still 6.6% higher than a year ago, according to the latest official figures to be published. This compares to a 0.2% rise in May with the data showing that price growth has slowed considerably from the 10.7% annual rise recorded in June 2015. The figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) also show that in Dublin property prices decreased by 0.7% in June and were 4.5% higher than a year ago. House prices decreased by 1% but are still 5% higher compared to a year earlier while apartment prices were 0.5% lower when compared with the same month of 2015. However, the CSO points out that it should be noted that the sub-indices for apartments are based on low volumes of observed transactions and consequently suffer from greater volatility than other series. The price of properties in the rest of Ireland increased by 0.5% in June compared with an increase of 0.4% in June of last year and were 8.6% higher than in June 2015. It means that house prices in Dublin are 33.5% lower than at their highest level in early 2007 while apartment prices in Dublin are 41.8% lower than they were in February 2007. Overall property prices in Dublin are 35.6% lower than at their highest level in February 2007. The price of properties in the rest of Ireland is 35.4% lower than their highest level in September 2007 and the national index is 33.3% lower than its highest level in 2007. The CSO will launch a new Residential Property Price Index (RPPI) for Ireland in early September 2016 which will replace the existing monthly RPPI. ‘The new RPPI will be based on Stamp Duty returns made to the Revenue Commissioners matched with other administrative data. It will now cover all market purchases of houses and apartments by households, both cash and mortgage based transactions,’ said a CSO spokesman. ‘The new RPPI represents a significant methodological improvement over the existing RPPI based on mortgage data from the credit institutions as it includes cash purchases, higher quality source data and more detailed locational characteristics in the price model,’ he added. Continue reading
