Tag Archives: autumn
UK experiencing a crisis in supply of homes for sale
There are 10 buyers for each property for sale in the UK as the supply of homes on the market has fallen again, reaching crisis level according to estate agents. At the same time sales to first time buyers fell in November even although the number of house hunters increased, the latest monthly report from the National Association of Estate Agent (NAEA) shows. After a promising period from July to October in which the number of sales made to first time buyers grew, in November, the percentage of sales made to the group fell by 10%, it also shows. Sales as a whole were down by 1% and while this is typical of this time of year sales to first time buyers are down dramatically and estate agents believe it will only get worse. The Chancellor George Osborne outlined plans to help first time buyers get on the housing ladder during his Autumn Statement but over half, 53%, of NAEA members think the group will continue to feel squeezed out of the market, due to the lack of affordable housing. The lack of supply and growing demand for housing continued to drive the market in to the ground, as the number of house hunters grew by 20% and available stock fell. In October, there were 336 house-hunters on average registered per branch, rising to 403 in November. The report also points out that available housing decreased marginally in November, from 43 properties managed per branch last month, to 41 this month meaning there are now 10 prospective buyers battling it out for each property. ‘It’s very normal at this time of year that demand is high and supply is low. House hunters hoping to find their dream property in the New Year have registered interest with agents, whilst those hoping to sell are holding off putting their properties on the market before January. However, supply is outweighing demand so heavily now that it can’t solely be attributed to seasonality,’ said Mark Hayward, NAEA managing director. ‘It’s clear that we’re faced with a crisis here and the housing market needs addressing as a matter of urgency. Our recent Housing 2025 report compiled with Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) and Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) found that by 2025, house prices are set to rise by 50% – and if we don’t act now, this will impact first time buyers, second steppers and last steppers, forcing many out of home ownership,’ he explained. ‘The Government has made efforts to address the issue of supply and demand, with Osborne outlining plans to build 200,000 new starter homes in his Autumn Statement, but four fifths of our agents think it simply isn’t enough. It’s all very well planning to build houses, but we need to move to action and get and the bricks and mortar on the ground, if… Continue reading
Bureaucracy preventing small UK building firms from taking on apprentices
A third of small construction firms in the UK are being put off from taking on apprentices because of the bureaucracy involved, according to a new research report. The construction industry is in the midst of a skills crisis which can only be solved if more employers take on apprentices, says the report from the Federation of Master Builders (FMB). The research shows that 94% of small construction firms want to train apprentices but a third are being turned off by a number of serious ‘fear factors’. These include the cost of employing and training an apprentice and major concerns regarding the complexity of the process. ‘There is strong evidence to show that small construction firms need better information and that if they were more aware of the support that’s available, a great number would train apprentices,’ said Brian Berry, FMB chief executive. The research also found that just under 80% of non-recruiters are not aware of one of the most important apprenticeship grants available to them and just over 75% say knowledge of financial support would make them more likely to take on apprentices. ‘Given that two thirds of all construction apprentices are trained by SMEs it is critical that the Government does everything in its power to remove any barriers that might be stopping these companies from training,’ Berry explained. ‘Looking ahead, the Government’s new apprenticeship voucher could be a disaster for small firms unless it is properly road tested and made as simple and easy to use as possible. We’re also calling on the Government to protect our industry training board which is at risk from the new Apprenticeship Levy,’ he pointed out. ‘The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) needs reform admittedly but without it the very smallest firms would be left with less financial and practical support for apprenticeship training. Remove this lifeline and you risk worsening the skills crisis,’ he added. The report is published at the same time as another piece of research which shows that construction and trade positions make up just 7% of all apprenticeships, down from a high of 12% in 2006. The research from small business insurer Direct Line for Business also shows that while the number of total apprenticeships has increased by 57% in the last five years to 434,630 during 2013/2014, only two construction and trade focused apprenticeships rank in the top 10, construction skills at nine and industrial applications at 10. This is vastly different to 2006/2007 when construction skills apprenticeships topped the table, with more than 20,000 apprenticeships undertaken in this field. ‘Construction and trade based skills are vital to the UK economy. It’s tradespeople who come to the rescue when our boiler fails, and are the ones who are working every day to build homes, offices and help improve our roads,’ said Nick Breton, head of Direct Line for Business. ‘Apprenticeships are important for budding builders, plumbers and electricians to get into the workplace. With fewer people in apprenticeships there is a… Continue reading
Buy let stamp duty could make investment unviable for new entrants in UK
The extra 3% stamp duty tax being levied on buy to let and second home buyers in April 2016 means that it may no longer be financially viable for new entrants to the lower end of the private landlord market, it is claimed. And the new tax band will have a disproportionate impact on pensioners looking to generate revenue in retirement, according to Chestertons, one of London's largest estate agents. The announcement of the additional levy on second homes and buy to let purchases came as a surprise announcement in the Chancellor's Autumn Statement, and initially caused some confusion across the industry as pundits disagreed on how the additional 3% would be applied. Chestertons has now calculated that the extra duty will hit the lower end of the market more heavily in terms of a percentage increase than it will the higher end. A buy to let property acquired for £150,000 attracts stamp duty of £500, but under the new regime it rises to £5,000, a tenfold increase. By comparison, an investor buying a property for £1 million currently pays £43,750 in stamp duty, while the new rate will be £73,750, less than double the original duty, although of course a larger amount in cash terms. ‘The Chancellor claimed that this change to stamp duty would prevent wealthy investors and overseas buyers from pricing first time buyers out of the market, but as usual the devil's in the detail,’ said Nick Barnes, head of research at Chestertons. ‘What we can now see is that this change is likely to completely deter many first time landlords from getting into the private rental market in the first place, including pensioners looking to wisely reinvest their precious pension pot,’ he pointed out. ‘ The obvious effect of this will be that there may well be a significant number of smaller landlords deterred from entering the sector altogether. Those who remain will have their margins slashed and, on top of the increasing regulatory burden and the planned reduction in mortgage interest relief, they may have to raise the rent in order to make the numbers stack up. Either way, the already highly competitive private rental market is about to get a whole lot more so,’ he added. According to Robert Bartlett, chief executive officer of Chestertons, the industry had hoped that the Chancellor might have announced stamp duty change that would have helped the current negative impact on sales above £1 million. ‘We'd hoped he might consider capping rates, or reducing them by 3%, so you can imagine the dismay when this extra surcharge was announced. The buy to let sector has become an essential part of the UK housing landscape and we urge the Chancellor to think clearly around the rules for when this is being introduced,’ he said. He pointed out that a number of key questions still need to be answered, for example whether a buy to let investor who has contracted… Continue reading
