Tag Archives: british
Survey suggests UK property owners carry out work to create their dream home
British home owners renovate their property for living in for the long term with the majority not doing so to increase the price, new research suggests. Some 67% are planning to stay in their home for over five years and carry out work with the aim of creating their dream home, according to the research by Zopa with kitchens the top target for change. The survey, of over 1,200 people who had taken a Zopa home improvement loan, found that 27% either have had or plan to get their home revalued after renovations, and only 9% said they would need to move to be in their ideal home. So far in 2016, Zopa customers have borrowed over £50 million to improve their homes, a 54% increase on home improvement loans compared to the same period last year. Some 34% used their home improvement loan to revamp their kitchens and, of those who said their homes are not yet perfect, 19% cited a bigger kitchen as top of their wish list. After renovations two out of five people say they are now in their perfect home. Of those who still don’t think their property is perfect, 22% said they would need to move. The most commonly cited areas for improvement were better decoration at 31%, bigger kitchens at 19% and more bedrooms also at 19%. The research also found that the majority, 73%, used professionals to complete their home improvements, with 45% using skilled professionals for the entire job while 13% undertook all the renovations themselves and the same number sourced help from family and friends. Some 77% said they’d be happy to do painting, with 51% ready to take on wallpapering and 32% happy to complete tiling but people were least confident when it came to masonry work at just 6%, bricklaying at 7% and plastering at 10%. The survey also found that 4.2% were considering moving to unlock the increased property value with 98% agreeing that their renovations have added value to their home. Some 27% believed the increase to be worth between £11,416 and £19,027, adding between 6% and 10% to the price while 19.4% said it would be an increase of between £20,930 and £28,541, a 11% to 15% rise in value and 11.4% expected to see an increase in value of over 21%. Continue reading
Should be business as usual for Brits buying property in the EU
British people seeking to buy a property in the European Union should not be downhearted by the referendum decision that the UK should leave, according to overseas real estate experts. Those who are looking to purchase a holiday home overseas, for example, are likely to see that owning a property in the EU will only be marginally more complex than it is currently, according to Andy Bridge, managing director of A Place in the Sun. He pointed out that citizens of the United States, Canada, Russia and many other nationalities own properties throughout Europe, so while it may become slightly more complex for British buyers than currently, they are not going to be prevented from owning property in Europe. Erna Low Property, French Alpine property specialists located in London and in the French ski resort of Les Arcs 1950, say that buyers must resist the urge to panic as there will be no change to buyers conditions and they state that right now buyers should focus on risk assessment and limitation of potential future damage. ‘We are sure that there will be no change in buying costs for those looking to buy property in France, and there are no planned changes in taxations for the income made from property rentals, as well as no difference in capital gain tax as since January 2015 a single rate was applied for EU and Non-EU members,’ said director Francois Marchand. ‘In time, UK residents might be limited regarding the amount of GBP investments and the amount of wealth that can be sent abroad when a new government is in. A safe investment risk strategy has always been to diversify your portfolio. It will make no difference for our clients investing in a French property whether they have bought, are planning to buy, or are currently in the process of buying a property in France. The mountains were there before EU existed, and will be there tomorrow to welcome any international property investors, part of the EU or not,’ he added. However, Alejandra Vanoli, managing director of Mallorca Sotheby's International Realty, believes that the real impact Brexit will have on European property markets will be hard to determine until the negotiations between the UK and the EU are finalised. ‘This of course will be most prevalent in the Spanish market due to the high concentration of British expats. However, these changes will undoubtedly need some time to take effect. Despite this, the Balearics are still a very attractive second home destination to British buyers due to our short flight time from the UK, secure lifestyle, warm climate and favourable legal framework for expats looking to invest in the property market,’ he said. One possible effect is that prices could rise in popular locations if real estate investors move away from the UK to other EU countries to buy property. Camille Letuve Partner of Athena Advisers said that some foreign investors might turn away from London… Continue reading
Property sales in Spain up over 16% year on year
Residential property sales in Spain are continuing to rise but this may be due to sellers accepting lower offers as prices are falling. The latest data from the General Council of Notaries show that sales increased by 16.2% in April year on year and in seasonally adjusted terms were up 18.9%. But prices are not following the growth trend, down 5.1% on average to stand at €1,241 per square metre. Both houses and apartment prices are falling, down 1.6% and 5.9% respectively. The growth is also reflected in lending with the number of mortgages for the purchase of a home rising by 38.3% year on year. The average amount was €120,125, a reduction of 4.9% compared to a year ago, also suggesting that people are paying less for properties. Meanwhile demand for prime property is also rising, especially in the most sought after areas. Well prices properties are being snapped up fast, often in just a matter of days, according to the latest report from Lucas Fox International Properties. Multiple agencies often find themselves competing with each other for the same clients, all of whom are looking to take advantage of the current low prices, according to the Barcelona based firm. ‘We're having to remove around 40 sold properties from our website each week as the market has picked up significantly. We currently have around 40,000 mainly overseas clients actively searching for homes to buy, the majority of whom want to invest in Barcelona, Madrid and key coastal areas such as the Costa Brava,’ said head of listings at Lucas Fox Ivan Belmonte. The report suggests that the lack of supply is due to the fact that new developments are still fairly slow to come onto the market and some owners are still waiting for prices to rise before they sell. According to Rod Jamieson, head of operations, published price data is often based on asking prices rather than actual sales prices so prices paid are not actually rising. ‘Our statistics show very minimal price increases, even in prime districts,’ he said. The firm’s data also shows that 50% of visitors to its website are from overseas and 50% national buyers. This compares to 56% and 44% respectively during the same period in 2015. The British continue to represent the biggest proportion of overseas visitors to the website at 10%, a slight drop from 2015, most likely due to fears over the European Union referendum outcome. After the UK, most overseas demand for Spanish homes comes from France, the United States and then Sweden. Continue reading
