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Petition launched to scrap EPCs in UK which were imposed by EU directive
A Parliamentary petition has been launched in the UK to scrap energy performance certificates for residential properties now that the country has decided to leave the European Union. The certificates, known as EPCs, were introduced in 2007 after the Housing Act 2004 made it a mandatory requirement that an energy assessment is made on all properties listed for sale in Britain and later this applied to rental properties too. This was done to comply with a European Directive and EPCs were seen as bureaucratic consequence of being a member of the European Union which means all countries had to introduce the certificates. This means that every home that is put on sale or for let needs to be inspected and a certificate issued before it can be advertised. It is estimated this amounts to an annual cost of £100 million to sellers and landlords. It is widely regarded that the resulting energy rating that the certificate assesses is of little help to either buyer or seller and has not proven to reduce energy consumption in any attempt to assist in mitigating the effects on the environment, as was the intention when first conceived by the European Commission. Now, Russell Quirk, chief executive officer of hybrid estate agent eMoov, has launched a Parliamentary petition to bring about the scrapping of EPCs which he believes will streamline the home moving process and save the country millions of pounds. ‘This petition will be the first shot to be fired by the property industry in achieving swift benefit from the EU exit,’ he said, pointing out that if 100,000 signatures are achieved this would mean that Parliament has to debate the issue. Quirk has also contacted the Housing Minister Brandon Lewis MP to ask for his support. Since inception, it is estimated that over 16 million EPCs have been produced and at a consumer cost of over £800 million. ‘I have launched this national petition in order to get rid of EPCs and the unnecessary cost to the consumer of paying for them. When introduced as part of the failed Home Information Pack in 2007 they were widely criticised as pointless and wasteful by the property industry,’ said Quirk. ‘Thousands of inspectors have had to be trained and then re-trained under adapted legislation, forced upon us by an EU directive that, now that we have voted for Brexit, can be unwound. EPCs are of no benefit to anyone and have created a bureaucratic burden on home sellers, landlords and estate agents,’ he added. Continue reading
Steady growth for UK commercial property returns and rental values in June
Commercial property returns and rental values saw steady growth in the UK in June but capital value growth slowed, according to the latest index report. Overall, rents across the UK grew by 0.2% in June, matching the trend for the year to date despite uncertainty in the build up to the EU referendum, according to the latest CBRE Monthly Index. But capital values grew by 0.1% over the month, a drop on 0.2% in May although the 0.6% total returns for the month matched returns seen almost every month of the year to date. In the first half of 2016 as a whole, rental value growth hit 1.1%, trailing the 1.7% seen in the same period of 2015. Capital values grew by 0.6% for the first six months of 2016, some way shy of the 4.1% in the first half of 2015. Total returns were also lower, from 6.7% in the first half of 2015, to 3% in the first half of 2016. The reports says that this lower return partly reflects an increase in stamp duty land tax in March. The retail sector experienced rental growth of 0.1% in June, above trend for the year so far, but capital values, which had been flat in April and May, fell by 0.2%. Total returns in the sector were 0.3%, compared with 0.5% the month before. The industrial sector experienced a strong monthly performance, with rents increasing by 0.4%, equal to its best monthly performance in 2016. The office sector saw rents grow by 0.3% in June, an improvement on the 0.2% of both April and May and in line with trend so far this year, while capital value growth slowed slightly from 0.4% to 0.3%. London offices mirrored this overall trend. Rental values rose by 0.3%, faster than the 0.2% seen in May, and capital value growth slowed from 0.6% in May to 0.5% in June, producing total returns in June of 0.8%. The London office market saw some outliers. Rental values in West End and Midtown offices were flat, down from 0.1% growth in May, while capital value growth also cooled to 0.2% from 0.5% in May. Offices in the City of London also experienced muted growth in the month, with rental growth of 0.2% and capital value growth of 0.1%, down from 0.6% and 0.3% respectively in May. ‘Overall, rents and capital values continued to grow in June, with the industrial sector in particular showing strong growth in a month of significant uncertainty. Clearly, capital value growth has slowed, but occupier demand has remained high across the country, pushing up All Property rental growth as fast as any other month this year,’ said Miles Gibson, head of research at CBRE UK. ‘These figures reflect CBRE valuations carried out in the days immediately following the referendum vote, but July’s monthly index will give a much clearer… Continue reading
Brexit hits asking prices in the UK, latest index shows
Asking prices have fallen in four English regions, London and Scotland with the UK’s decision to leave the European Union being blamed for the change to a 19 month long rise in values. Overall mix-adjusted average asking price dropped 0.2% since June as confidence among sellers was dampened by the outcome of the referendum vote, according to the latest asking price index from Home.co.uk. London prices, which were already looking the most overvalued, have been hit the hardest, falling 1.1% in just one month which equates to around £6,000 less for the average home in the city. The index also shows that the average asking price in the South East has slipped 0.2% during the last month, but the biggest drop outside London was in the North East with a fall of 0.7%. The index report suggests that this fall comes as a serious blow to a region that was just showing the first signs of genuine recovery since the financial crisis of 2007. However, several English regions and Wales are still seeing asking prices rise. The East Midlands rose the most with growth of 0.7% over the last month, followed by the North West and ales both up 0.4%, Yorkshire up 0.3%, the West Midlands up 0.2% and the East of England up 0.1%. ‘As the Brexit vote is only about two weeks old, we may well see these figures turn negative next month. Whilst the key drivers of lack of supply and cheap credit remain, uncertainty brought about by the Brexit vote is undermining the property market,’ said Doug Shephard director of Home.co.uk. ‘Overall, the current mix-adjusted average asking price for England and Wales is now 6.1% higher than it was in July 2015, and we predict this figure will tend towards 0% over the coming months,’ he added. He expects that both consumer and investment decisions are set to be delayed until there is somewhat less uncertainty about future prospects for the UK economy but uncertainty looks set to remain for some time and when it comes to house prices the fallout from Brexit looks set to cut short the price rallies of several regions including preventing a recovery in the North and making the inevitable correction for London and the South East deeper and more painful. The index report also shows that the supply of property has increased in London by 6%, the East of England by 7% and the South East by 4% while the typical time on the market has increased by two days to 82 days over the last month across England and Wales but is still six days less than in July 2015. The total stock of property on the market is also up again but is still 5.2% less than in July last year. ‘In the light of the referendum result, we revise our prediction of 10% growth per annum for these regions down to 2%. The South West also looked set to become… Continue reading
