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Price of a home for first time buyers in England up 28% in last four years
First time buyers in England are now paying out an average of just over £196,000 for their home, a rise of £42,451 or 28% over the last four years, new research shows. Over the same period the average house price has increased by 26%, highlighting the ever growing obstacle many first time buyers face getting onto the housing ladder, according to the report from hybrid estate agent eMoov. The situation is harder in London where the current price paid on average by first time buyers is £462,602, by £54% since up 2012 while at £86,116, County Durham in the north east of England offers the best value for those looking to get on the property ladder. Durham has struggled in recent times where the property market is concerned, with low demand seeing prices drop, although this has at least benefited first time buyers in the area, the report says. But prices have increased by just 3% or £2,600 since 2012, the lowest across England. In London even the top five most affordable boroughs have average house prices for first time buyers well above the UK average. The most affordable at £254,600 is Barking and Dagenham, followed by Havering at £281,836, Bexley at £285,464, Croydon at £301,001 and Sutton at £312,978. In 2012 the average first time buyer price for each borough was below £200,000, but since then first time buyers in each of these five boroughs seen an increase of between £95,000 and £118,000. Kensington and Chelsea at £1.1 million is the most expensive borough in the capital for first time buyers, followed by Westminster at £906,882, the City of London at £711,009, Camden at £669,020 and Hammersmith and Fulham at £690,296. The highest prices for first time buyers outside of London are Surrey with an average of £323,973, Hertfordshire at £305,043, Berkshire at £292,227, Oxfordshire at 286,962 and Buckinghamshire at £286,511. These areas have seen first time buyer prices rise by between £80,000 and £96,000 since 2012. ‘First time buyers are paying almost as much as second and third steppers in actual price terms yet the percentage increase in first time buyer properties is tracking at even greater than regular house prices. It really does highlight the issue facing the nation's next generation of aspirational home owners,’ said Russel Quirk, chief executive officer of eMoov. ‘How the government expect anyone to get on in life when the first hurdle they face is all but unobtainable, to begin with, is beyond me, especially in London. Over 90% of the capital’s boroughs have seen the price paid by first time buyers increase by more than £100,000 in just four or so short years,’ he pointed out. ‘We must address this issue and find a way to bring home ownership back in reach of the average home buyer, not just in London, or the surrounding commuter counties, but to the whole of England,’ he added. Continue reading
More first time buyers boost existing home sales in the US
Boosted by a greater share of sales to first time buyers not seen in nearly four years, existing home sales in the United States maintained their upward trend in June and increased for the fourth month in a row. Only the Northeast of the nation saw a decline in sales in June and sales to investors fell to their lowest overall share since July 2009, according to the latest monthly index from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Existing home sales were up 1.1% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.57 million in June from a downwardly revised 5.51 million in May. After last month's gain, sales are now up 3% from June 2015 and remain at their highest annual pace since February 2007. According to Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, the four month streak of sales gains through June caps off a solid first half of 2016 for the housing market. ‘Existing sales rose again last month as more traditional buyers and fewer investors were able to close on a home despite many competitive areas with unrelenting supply and demand imbalances,’ he said. ‘Sustained job growth as well as this year's descent in mortgage rates is undoubtedly driving the appetite for home purchases but looking ahead, it's unclear if this current sales pace can further accelerate as record high stock prices, near record low mortgage rates and solid job gains face off against a dearth of homes available for sale and lofty home prices that keep advancing,’ he pointed out. The index data also shows that median existing home prices for all housing types in June was $247,700, up 4.8% year on year and it means that prices have now increased for 52 months in a row and surpass May's peak median sales price of $238,900. Total housing inventory at the end of June dipped 0.9% to 2.12 million existing homes available for sale and is now 5.8% lower than a year ago while unsold inventory is at a 4.6 month supply at the current sales pace, which is down from 4.7 months in May. The share of first time buyers was 33% in June, up from 30% in May and a year ago and is the highest since July 2012 when it was 34%. Through the first six months of the year, first time buyers have represented an average of 31% of buyers compared to 30% in all of 2015. ‘The modest bump in June sales to first time buyers can be attributed to mortgage rates near all-time lows and perhaps a hopeful indication that more affordable, lower priced homes are beginning to make their way onto the market,’ said Yun. ‘The odds of closing on a home are definitely higher right now for first time buyers living in metro areas with tamer price growth and greater entry level supply, particularly areas in the Midwest and parts of the South,’ he added. The data also shows that all cash sales… Continue reading
Brexit analysis shows vote has affected UK prices and sales
Overall, both property prices and sales in the UK have fallen by around 8% since the referendum decision to leave the European Union, but there are wide regional variations. London, the Home Counties and Northern Ireland have been the hardest hit by Brexit, according to a survey covering the four weeks before and after the vote on 23 June carried out by ReallyMoving. It found that sales fell by 8% and prices also fell by 8% across the country but sales were down much further in London by 44% while prices in Scotland increased by 15%. Sales volumes fell markedly, down 12% for the month after the vote compared to the month before, based on the 35,000 people who registered for quotes for conveyancing, surveys and removals with the firm. Although some summer seasonal decline is expected, typically around 4% to 5%, the firm says that this is a seasonally adjusted 8% fall, an unusually high volume drop and the fall of 8% in average property is a significantly larger month on month change than seen at any point in the previous five years. Looking at the breakdown in prices and transaction volumes across the UK reveals striking regional differences. While London remains by far the highest-priced region, prices have fallen 12% since Brexit, and property purchases down 44%. The number of property purchases has fallen in all regions, most strongly in London, the Home Counties, and Northern Ireland, while Wales saw a drop of just 3%. Although prices fell significantly in London, there were even bigger declines in the North East of England and Northern Ireland, as both fell 17%. But, prices rose by 15% in Scotland, and by a more modest 7% in Wales. International moves have increased markedly since Brexit, but only for moves away from the UK, which have increased by 43%. Moves to the UK are broadly unchanged. The most popular destinations for international moves from the UK are to Spain, USA, Canada, Australia, Germany and Italy. ‘Brexit has had a marked impact on the UK property market. The drop in transaction volumes has been striking, particularly in London, the Home Counties and Northern Ireland,’ said Rob Houghton, chief executive officer of ReallyMoving. ‘In the medium term we would expect volumes to pick up if the price falls are maintained, but it is clear that many prospective home movers are sitting tight until there's greater clarity over the post-Brexit economy and our likely new relationship with the rest of the EU,’ he added. Continue reading
