Tag Archives: election
Prime property in south west London outshines rest of capital
Price growth in the prime south west London property market marginally outperformed the prime London average in the second quarter of 2015 with values rising 2% and 1.6% respectively. The data from the latest analysis report from Savills shows that the large leafy district running south from Fulham to Wimbledon and stretching west from Clapham to Ham, also shows that annual growth was 0.8% compared with year on year falls in other prime London markets. The strongest growth across all the prime south west London submarkets was recorded for properties below £1 million, where buyers benefited modestly from the stamp duty reform announced in the Autumn Statement of December 2014, the report says. However, price growth was just 2.1% as the mortgage market review continues to restrict the amount people can borrow and at the top end of the market, buyer caution has been most evident, with properties valued over £2 million seeing small price falls of 0.7% over the past year. The report points out that this has particularly affected some of the higher value markets such as Fulham and Battersea, where values of property worth over £1.5 million fell by 2.5% and 3.5% respectively over the past year. Price falls were largely a result of the stamp duty changes and the uncertainty surrounding a mansion tax in the run up to the general election, the report suggests and since the election, some of the deferred demand is beginning to flow back into the market, although the new stamp duty rates are still keenly felt by buyers. This has restricted any significant boost to prices and transaction numbers and we expect this to continue over the rest of 2015. Nonetheless, Savills is forecasting price growth to return to the market in 2016 and values to rise by 22.7% over the five years to the end of 2019. In the rental market average rents in prime south west London have increased by 1.7% over the past 12 months, despite seeing very small falls of 0.1% over the three months to the end of June. This compares to a more subdued annual increase of just 0.5% across all prime London. The report explains that the area attracts a wide range of tenants. Corporate relocators, both from the UK and overseas, account for 42% of tenants, and the higher value markets of Richmond and Battersea are particularly popular. Additionally, many affluent families are becoming more flexible in their location preferences and increasingly attracted to south west London where the average rent per square foot is £28 per year, less than half of that in prime central London. In the first half of 2015, 17% of tenants moved from either the borough of Kensington and Chelsea or City of Westminster, compared to 13% of tenants in 2014. This is particularly evident in Fulham which, despite being the most expensive south west London rental market, is 42% cheaper than neighbouring Chelsea. A potential risk to the sector is… Continue reading
Housing demand in UK reaches 11 year high
H ousing demand in the UK has reached an 11 year high with the number of housing hunters registering with estate agents reaching almost 430 per branch at a time when fewer homes go on sale. The number of house hunters registered per branch of members of the National Association of Estate Agents reached 439 in June, the highest since August 2004, and sales to first time buyers fell. This is 15% more than in May when 383 house hunters were registered per branch and it comes at a time when supply of housing stock fell from 46 in May to just 44 houses available per branch, widening the growing gap between supply and demand. ‘What we’re seeing is a market that lulled over the general election period, coming back to life in full force,’ said Mark Hayward, managing director of the NAEA. ‘Buyers are feeling more confident and those who put their plans on hold over the election and political aftermath have kicked off their hunt, causing this massive jump in demand. There’s also an impetus to buy right now in light of the impending interest rate rise as buyers fight to buy and fix mortgage rates. But the fact that demand is at an eleven year high without the housing stock to fuel it, is bad news for the market,’ he added. The monthly NAEA report also shows that as the gap between supply and demand widened in May, activity remained consistent, with nine sales made on average per branch for the second month running. However, the number of sales made to first time buyers declined in June, with the group accounting for just 24% of sales, compared to 29% in May. ‘Although activity is still slow, it’s very promising to see that the surge in demand and dip in supply hasn’t caused activity to halt, and houses are still being sold. However, the growing gap between supply and demand is worrying and clearly demonstrates that more needs to be done to plug this. The election was full of promises to build more houses, but now those promises need to be put into bricks and mortar to respond to demand,’ Hayward explained. Continue reading
UK house prices up 5.7% year on year, slight annual rise, ONS data shows
UK house prices increased by 5.7% in the year to May 2015, up from 5.5% in the year to April 2015, the latest official property market data shows. House price annual inflation was 5.8% in England, 2.5% in Wales, 2.9% in Scotland and 10.5% in Northern Ireland, according to the index from the Office of National Statistics (ONS). The pace of annual house price growth increased slightly across the majority of the UK in May 2015 taking he average mix-adjusted house price to £274,000 and was driven by an annual increase of 9.3% in the East of England and 8.2% in the South East. Excluding London and the South East, UK house prices increased by 5.2% in the 12 months to May 2015 and on a seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices increased by 0.9% between April and May 2015. In May 2015, prices paid by first time buyers were 5.1% higher on average than in May 2014 and for existing owners prices increased by 5.9% for the same period. The data shows that the regional disparities of the property market are steadily shrinking as price growth becomes more broad based, according to Jonathan Hopper, managing director of Garrington Property Finders. ‘London and South East England remain strong hotspots, but as the rates of price rises there return to more sober levels, five of the nine English regions saw their rate of price growth rise and the East of England, powered in part by an extraordinary surge in activity in Cambridge, has the fastest growing property values,’ he said. ‘Even North East England, which was hit hardest by the slump, is now seeing price growth of nearly 2% a year. Demand exceeds supply for all but the most expensive prime property, and this is steadily forcing prices up across the board,’ he explained. ‘Despite mortgages being at their cheapest level for years, buyers are still intensely value sensitive and in some regions seller expectations have been outstripping what buyers are willing to pay. Though confidence among both buyers and sellers remains high, as the summer slowdown begins, sellers must be wary of letting their pricing ambitions run away from what the market will tolerate,’ he added. Alex Gosling, chief executive officer of online estate agents HouseSimple, pointed out that despite the rate of price growth slightly decelerating, demand has remained constant. ‘A shortage of stock during the pre-election uncertainty stilted the market, however the flurry of properties which have come on since the election's clear result have coincided with a strong return to confidence,’ he said. ‘Both sellers and buyers are trusting the market more, prompted by steady economic growth, better employment prospects and a boost in earnings. But it is worth noting that vendors may consider it to be a sellers' market, but buyers are not making the same mistakes of the last boom, as they remain sensitive to both price and affordability,’ he added. With house price growth… Continue reading
