Tag Archives: construction
Property prices in England and Wales up for second month in row to new record
The price of UK properties being put up for sale has increased for the second month in a row by 0.1% taking the average price to a new record high of £294,542, the latest index figures show. But there has been a sharp drop in the number of new sellers, adding to an already diminishing supply of homes for sales and a shortage of people trading up, according to the July market report from Rightmove. Year on year prices are up 5.1% but the headline figures hide considerable regional variations. In Wales prices are down 1.7% year on year but up 1.5% month on month, taking the average price to £177,280. Annual growth is small in the North East at 0.9% but monthly growth is 2.1%, taking the average price to £147,251. In the West Midlands annual price growth is 3.2%, taking the average price of a home to £200,129 but the region saw a 0.5% fall month on month. In neighbouring East Midlands average prices have climbed 7.4% year on year and 1.2% month on month, to an average of £313,255. The South West has also seen prices fall month on month, down 0.6% but prices are still up 2.9% year on year to an average of £286,155. Elsewhere in the south growth has been largely positive. In the South East prices are up 5.8% year on year and 0.4% month on month to £386,988 and in Greater London they are up 7.8% year on year but down slightly by 0.2% month on month to £615,115. The East Midlands, the North West and Yorkshire and Humber, areas where price growth has struggled to keep up with other parts of the country, have seen positive growth. In the East Midlands prices are up 4.2% year on year and 0.7% month on month to £190,192 and in the North West they are up 2.7% year on year and 0.1% month on month to £176,277. Meanwhile in Yorkshire and the Humber average prices have increased by 2% year on year and by 0.8% month on month to an average of £172,412. Indeed, the number of new sellers is down 10.6% compared to 2014 and this comes at a time when demand is high. Rightmove reports that visits and enquiries to agents are both up 22% on last year. The shortage is most acute for smaller homes with two bedrooms or fewer, where Rightmove sees the biggest demand in excess of supply. According to Miles Shipside, director and housing market analyst at Rightmove, the drop in new homes for sale could be due to the onset of the seasonal summer slowdown, and buyers’ constraints in affording record prices. He said that the latter underlines the need for more new build homes that are affordable, of the right type and in the right locations and emphasises the importance of the recent government announcement on speeding up residential planning permissions aimed at boosting supply. ‘Another month, and… Continue reading
New homes in UK seen as cramped and of poor quality, new research has found
The UK government has pledged to build hundreds of thousands of much needed new homes but it seems that this is not what home owners want with the majority preferring older properties. People think new homes are too small, characterless and of poor quality with new research finding that just 21% would actually buy a new build and 47% want a home that is 10 years old or older. The survey carried out for the HomeOwners Alliance found that 38% think that a low standard of build quality is the main disadvantage of a new home. A third were put off by the size of rooms and other dislike included the lack of character and smaller gardens. ‘We need more new homes, but they have to be homes that people want to live in, not homes that are quick, easy and cheap for house builders to throw up,’ said Paula Higgins, of the HomeOwners Alliance. ‘What we need to solve the housing crisis are quality homes of character and space, and challenge the housing industry to deliver. After the war, they built homes fit for heroes. All we want is homes fit for home owners. Homes shouldn’t be built just for a quick profit, but to last for generations to come,’ she added. There are however, positive aspects to new homes, the research also found. For example no old pipes on show and no hidden problems. And half of people believe the biggest benefits of a new build were the low maintenance costs and better energy efficiency. Kim Vernau, of BLP insurance, which funded the research, said that there is reasoning behind the perception over quality. ‘With activity in the construction industry on the increase as local authorities and developers attempt to meet the housing shortfall, there is a real risk that building standards will slip,’ said Vernau. ‘Consumers want peace of mind and reassurance that the home they are purchasing is fit for purpose and built to last rather than simply chasing a house-building statistic,’ added Vernau. Official figures show about 120,000 homes were completed last year, an increase on 2013 but still only half the 240,000 experts say are needed to deal with the UK’s chronic housing shortage. The Government has pledged to ease the supply shortage by building 200,000 cut-price starter homes. Prime Minister David Cameron said first time buyers under 40 would be able to buy these houses at a 20% discount to ensure everyone who works hard can have a home of their own. Continue reading
New home building not meeting demand for housing in Australia
Despite a record level of home building activity in Australia, this is still falling short of the current demand for new homes, according to the Housing Industry Association, the voice of Australia’s residential building industry. The HIA Autumn 2015 National Outlook report shows new housing construction is at record levels and is single handedly propping up Australia’s domestic economy. But HIA chief economist, Harley Dale, said that on-going momentum in 2015 is narrowly driven compared to last year, in terms of both geographical area and dwelling type. ‘It is disappointing that despite record new housing supply, many Australians are being priced out of the market due to the excessive and inefficient taxation and regulation governments’ impose on the new housing sector,’ he pointed out. ‘Super low interest rates are doing their job, but there is a lack of complimentary policy reform. The detached house construction cycle had peaked well below its potential because households can’t pay the cost of waiting up to 14 months for titled land, or multiple months for a simple building approval, or borrow the additional amount required to cover government-imposed gold-plating of user pays infrastructure,’ he explained. ‘A lack of focus on housing policy reform is shutting Australians’ out of their new home at a time when they could borrow responsibly at attractive interest rates and be part of the great Australian dream,’ he added. New dwelling commencements are projected to see a third consecutive year of growth in 2014/205. An increase of 12.9% is forecast to bring commencements to an all-time high of 205,490. The ultra-low interest rate environment means that there is some upside risk to this forecast. The latest projections indicate that dwelling commencements will fall by 10.6% in 2015/2016, with a further reduction of 4.7% in 2016/2017. The bulk of the decline will be concentrated in the ‘multi-unit’ market segment. The further upward momentum to new home building in 2015 is confined to two states, New South Wales and Queensland. The report also says that detached house commencements have peaked for the cycle at a level of 112,232. There is unrealised demand for detached housing due to a lack of shovel-ready land and a plethora of other supply side obstacles. Detached house commencements would have increased further in 2015 without these barriers to supply. Across the distinct types of new dwellings constructed, the upward momentum in 2015 is most evident for units of four or more storeys. There is some upward momentum evident for semi-detached/townhouse product. Housing renovations continue to struggle, increasing by just 0.8% during 2014. For 2014/2015 as a whole, the report expects that the volume of renovations will fall by 4.1% to $27.4 billion. That will be the lowest value since 2001/2002. Continued low interest rates and an economic recovery will eventually start to lift the renovations market. During 2015/2016 growth of 2.3% is forecast followed by a slight increase of 0.5% during 2016/2017. A further rise of 2.5%… Continue reading
