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Flats cost more in the UK than semi-detached properties, new research shows
On average home buyers in the UK are paying almost £20,000 more for flats than semi-detached properties, new research has found. This could be one reason why first time buyers are bypassing flats in favour of semi-detached homes, according to a study by leading lender the Halifax. It shows that the average price of a flat in the UK has risen by £86,474 since property prices were at their lowest in late 2008 from £150,749 to £237,223 at the end of 2015. The 57% increase in the average price of a flat is significantly higher than the 37% rise for all residential properties over the same period. Additionally, it means that buyers are on average now paying almost £20,000 more for a flat than for a semi-detached home. Detached homes recorded the smallest rise at 20% over the past seven years, while terraced and semi-detached houses saw price rises of 38% and 34% respectively since 2008. The research report explains that a considerable proportion of the national rise in flat values since 2008 is due to the rapid increase in flat prices in London with growth of 62% Flats represent a much higher share of the property market in London than elsewhere with 50% of sales in the capital being flats compared with a UK average of 17%. However, if London performance is excluded, then price growth is greatest for terraced homes at 31%, closely followed by semi-detached houses at 29% and flats at 26%. Detached home properties remain the worst performer with 19% growth on this basis. Prices have increased by around 20% across all property types since 2013 with the exception of detached properties, which have seen a much lower rise of 8%. ‘The high prices being paid for London flats have had a significant impact on the national picture when it comes to property type winners and losers. This is the result of more flats being sold in the capital and at the higher end of the market. Such is their popularity that flats continued to outperform other property types in the capital last year, with an annual price growth of 17% by the end of 2015,’ said Martin Ellis, housing economist at the The research also shows that at 30% terraced homes are the most popular followed by semi-detached at 29% as was the case in 2008. But there have been some changes in market composition over the past seven years, with an increase in the share of semi-detached homes from 25% to 29%, whilst the proportion accounted for by flats has fallen from 22% to 17%. This shift from flats to semis has been particularly marked for first time buyers. Semi-detached homes have risen in popularity, accounting for 29% of purchases in 2015 compared with 23% in 2008. However, flat sales for first time buyers have fallen from 32% of all property sales to 23% over the same period. ‘Semi-detached and terraced homes have remained the most popular… Continue reading
New home registrations up 7% year on year in UK
The number of new homes registered to be built in the UK increased by 7% year on year in 2015, reaching an eight year high of over 156,000, new data shows. The figures from the National House Building Council (NHBC) show that 75% more new homes were registered in 2015 than at the time of the housing crash in 2009 and there were 156,140 registration compared to 146,359 in 2014. Private sector registrations increased by 7% to 118,611 in 2015 compared to 110,674 in 2014 while public sector registration increased by 5% to 37,529 from 35,685 in 2014. Continuing the trend from 2014, the number of detached homes registered reached 42,173, the highest for over a decade. Additionally, the number of semi-detached homes registered in 2015 at 35,423 was the highest in more than 20 years. NHBC's latest data also revealed that the majority of UK regions experienced notable growth on 2014 levels, with the Eastern region up 23%, the North West up 16% and Scotland up by 15%. In the East Midlands growth was 12%, the South West up 9% and West Midlands also up 9%. While Northern Ireland saw the biggest increase at 30%, the NHBC pointed out that this was from a relatively low base. London is still leading the way in the number of new home registrations. Although the 2015 figure of 25,994 registrations is down 9% on the record 2014 total of 28,518, although 2015 saw the third highest number of registrations on record. Yorkshire and the Humber was down 13% on 2014 and Wales down 2% on 2014. As the leading warranty and insurance provider for new homes in the UK, NHBC's registration statistics are the lead indicator of the health of the country's new homes market. ‘2015 was a year for continued housing growth in the UK. Both the public and private sectors have performed well and we have seen encouraging levels of house building across most regions of the country,’ said NHBC chief executive Mike Quinton. ‘The detached home continues its resurgence, with our figures showing that house builders are building the highest number of detached properties for over a decade, with semi-detached homes also at their highest level in more than 20 years,’ he pointed out. ‘There is still a way to go before we are building the levels of new homes that were seen before the economic downturn, but 2015 represents consolidation on the growth seen over the last three years,’ he added. However, it would seem that this is not translating into work for smaller builders. According to the Federation of Master Builders’ (FMB) workloads for small builders across the country took a downward turn towards the end of 2015. ‘The building industry remains confident of continued growth but the slowdown we saw in the last quarter is a cause for concern,’ said Brian Berry, chief executive of the FMB,, who added that despite the growth in registrations both current and expected construction workloads are… Continue reading
Residential rental prices up 2.5% in UK in 2015
Private rental prices paid by tenants in Great Britain rose by 2.5% in the 12 months to December 2015, according to the latest index from the Office of National Statistics. Private rental prices grew by 2.7% in England, 0.7% in Wales and 0.9% in Scotland with rental prices increasing the most in London at 3.9%. When London is excluded the national year on year growth is 1.8%. Some of the more detailed ONS figures show that since January 2011 England rental prices have increased more than those of Wales and Scotland. The annual rate of change for Wales continues to be below that of England and the Great Britain average. Rental growth in Scotland has slowed to 0.9% in the year to December 2015, from 2.1% in the year for the months of January through to June 2015. The index series for England starts in 2005. Private rental prices in England show three distinct periods: rental price increases from January 2006 until October 2009, rental price decreases from December 2009 to October 2010, and increasing rental prices from November 2010 onwards. Of these three periods, 2008 showed the largest rental price increases. When London is excluded, England shows a similar pattern but with slower rental price increases from around January 2011. Since the beginning of 2012, English rental prices have shown annual increases ranging between 1.4% and 3% year on year, with December 2015 rental prices being 2.7% higher than December 2014 rental prices. Excluding London, England showed an increase of 1.9% for the same period. In the 12 months to December 2015, private rental prices increased in each of the nine English regions with the largest in London at 3.9% followed by the East at 2.8% and the South East also at 2.8%. Rental price increases have been stronger in London than the rest of England since November 2010. The rental market continued to show signs of strength overall in the fourth quarter of 2015 as prices increased by 2.5% in the year to December 2015 but this was a slowdown of 0.2% in the annual growth rate compared with September 2015. The ONS report says that this slowdown is partly driven by Scotland, where prices increased 0.9% in the year to December 2015, a fall of 0.7% compared with the annual growth rate in September 2015. It also points out that conditions in the housing market as a whole may have been supporting rental price growth. Data from the ONS house price index for November 2015 shows that house price growth has typically been stronger than rent price growth for a number of years. The Bank of England’s Agents’ Summary of Business Conditions for the fourth quarter of 2015 reported that private rental demand continued to grow steadily in the three months to December. Data from RICS’ Residential Market Survey for November 2015 confirmed this growth, noting that national tenant demand continued to grow in the three months to November 2015. The strength… Continue reading
