Tag Archives: elections
Sales transactions down while lettings thrive in prime London property market
Sales in London’s prime property market have continued to fall for the second month in a row in 2015, with transactions down 22% year on year. According to real estate firm W.A. Ellis, a JLL company, this comes on top of a 34% year on year fall in sales recorded in January. A breakdown of the figures shows that the most dramatic reduction is sales of houses within Belgravia, Chelsea, Knightsbridge and Kensington which have dropped by 100% from 40 sales in 2014 to 19 in the same period this year. ‘Whilst at first glance, these figures may sound alarming, it is always the same in the run up to an election, particularly when property and potential taxation surrounding it, has been at the forefront of all parties’ manifestos,’ said Richard Barber, director at W.A.Ellis. ‘That said, if one uses the same parameters, namely houses sold in the preceding postcodes in previous election years, 2010 and 2005, 47 and 38 houses were sold respectively. He pointed out that an interesting trend that the firm has observed recently is the off market sales sector. ‘With sentiment amongst domestic buyers so cautious, it is not surprising that vendors wish to keep their houses away from the internet, where its exposure and time on the market can so easily be measured,’ he said. ‘There have certainly been several off market sales recently, but these will not contradict the general downward trend in transaction levels,’ he explained, adding that while the top of the prime central London market may be undergoing a weaker period in the face of the election, London’s suburbs are still experiencing strong growth, fuelled in part by buy to let investors benefitting from a reduction in lenders stress testing. He explained that loans of up to 75% (LTV) can now be acquired and the stress test for rental income has in some cases been reduced from 125% to 110%. ‘This is good news for investors, however one must remember that the government, as of 06 April, will be clawing back greater Capital Gains Tax revenues from both foreign owners and corporate structures on all capital gains made after this date,’ said Barber. ‘whilst the outlook for the market over the next 64 days remains tentative, we are still registering strong international interest at the very upper end of the market which is indicative of London’s perception as the number one safe haven and front runner for long term capital growth over the next 10 years,’ he added. In the lettings sector Lucy Morton, director and head of agency at W.A.Ellis, said that the firm is seeing both savvy investors and a cautious buyers entering the lettings dynamics. ‘The savvy investor is looking to buy to let to increase their portfolio prior to the election foreseeing that there could well be a boom in the sales market once the uncertainty is over and a government in place… Continue reading
Next year looking optimistic for British buyers looking for dream home abroad
Interest from British buyers looking for property abroad in 2014 was driven by the strength of the pound against the euro and this continues to be the case, according to a new outlook report. It has been a year of contrasting halves with a surprisingly busy January followed by a difficult few months. The market only really picked up in May and June, says the report from Home Hunts which specialises in finding luxury homes and investment properties throughout France, Monaco, Geneva, London and New York. The firm is cautiously optimistic about 2015 and believes that the market should remain buoyant, particularly in the most sought after areas of France, however buyers are looking for a deal and sellers have to be realistic about prices. ‘We expect confidence to slowly continue growing in 2015 as people discover the flexibility of prices. The French General Elections in 2017 is likely to result in a change of government and savvy investors are taking advantage of the current favourable buying conditions to reap rewards later,’ said Tim Swannie, director of Home Hunts. ‘2014 was such a year of contrasting halves so we cannot predict a huge rise in property prices for 2015 but, we can confidently say the market should remain buoyant, particularly in the most sought after areas of France,’ he added. For Home Hunts, 2014 started strongly and January was the busiest month for about four years with 16 sales agreed and lots of interest from international buyers. ‘Bearing in mind that January is usually one of the quietest months of the year in terms of sales, we took this as a sign that things were set to explode,’ explained Swannie. But the market slowed. In France it started to pick-up again with busy months in May and June and this momentum continued into the summer months and with a lot of interest in July and August. The second half of the year saw even more interest, especially from UK buyers because of the strength of the pound verses the euro and this continues to be the case. ‘We have had buyers from all over the world including China, the Middle East, America, South Africa, Brazil, and Russia as well as all over Europe. We have also sold a huge range of properties such as apartments in Cannes and Paris, vineyards in Bordeaux, a chateau in Provence, waterfront villas on the Riviera and chalets in the French Alps,’ Swannie pointed out. He also explained that there has been no real pattern in nationalities of buyers, areas or property styles that our clients have been looking for, but the common factor in all of the purchases has been that every single buyer has been looking for a 'deal'. For example, clients are taking advantage of the current French housing market to find their dream home, in their dream destination, at their dream price. The properties selling at the moment are those which have either been put on the market very recently… Continue reading
EU Biofuel Regulations Set To Be Delayed Until 2015
Advanced biofuels producers criticise “bad day for industry and investors” as Environment Committee vote pushes back debate on new rules By Will Nichols 18 Oct 2013 EU lawmakers have effectively postponed the creation of a stable policy regime for biofuels until 2015 in a move that is “bad news for industry and investors”, companies across the sector said yesterday. The Environment (ENVI) Committee of the European Parliament yesterday voted against allowing negotiations with member states on a draft law to cap the use of food crop-based biofuels and measure indirect emissions arising from biofuels production from 2020. The European Parliament approved revising the current biofuels regulations last month. But the motion to start negotiations with the European Council, made up of ministers from member states, was only passed by one vote, which meant it required a second reading before a final vote. MEP Corinne Lepage, rapporteur of the biofuels draft law, was bidding to start a fast-tracked second-reading procedure, arguing the overwhelming majority of industry stakeholders want “a quick result” that could deliver policy certainty prior to next year’s European elections. The proposal split the biofuels industry. Earlier this month, Danish company Novozymes, BA, DONG Energy, WWF and Transport & Environment were among 15 companies and NGOs to call on the EU to start early second-reading negotiations in the hope of delivering a “sustainable, lasting, and stable policy framework for the biofuels industry” before the elections in May 2014. But fast-tracked negotiations were strongly opposed by conventional biofuel producer groups, who would be most affected by new rules requiring firms to calculate indirect land use change (iLUC) emissions arising from deforestation, draining of peatlands and other land clearance for biofuels. In a letter sent this week, six industry bodies argued the science underpinning iLUC calculations is too imprecise to be used to underpin legislation and urged Council representatives to reject a second reading, arguing “no hasty decisions” should be made because of time pressure before May 2014 and that EU institutions needed time for “a healthy debate … before reaching definitive conclusions”. The move to fast track a decision was subsequently quashed by ENVI yesterday, so it is now unlikely that a decision on new biofuels regulations will be taken before 2015. The move was welcomed by Raffaello Garofalo, secretary general of the European Biodiesel Board (EBB). “After the publication of up to date authoritative studies on ILUC a widening range of decision makers supports a more prudent and open-minded approach,” he said in a statement. “Even MEPs close to Ms Lepage realised that early second reading would not have provided sufficient time to assess the relevance of science used in policy.” But campaign groups warned EBB and the rest of conventional biofuels lobby was simply engaging in stalling tactics because the status quo benefits them. Nusa Urbancic, clean fuels manager at campaign group Transport & Environment (T&E), said: “This is an unfortunate case of vested interests winning out over innovators willing and able to produce more sustainable biofuels.” The decision also drew criticism from Kåre Riis Nielsen, director of European affairs at Novozymes, who said the ENVI decision was “bad news for industry and investors who need clarity”. “Once again policy-makers are delaying decision-making on iLUC,” he added. “Ongoing regulatory uncertainty is jeopardising all the parallel EU efforts to attract much needed investments in innovative renewable energy technologies, including in advanced biofuels. “Despite the absence of mandate, we are urging Member States to continue the negotiations on the iLUC proposal and finalise their 1st reading position before the end of the Lithuanian Presidency.” Continue reading
