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Homes in national parks and outstanding rural spots still command a price premium
Despite the rise of urban living in the UK, many home buyers are still searching for the ultimate period property in an idyllic green setting, research suggests. In particular, the country’s 15 designated green breathing spaces or National Parks along with 45 smaller Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) often appeal to many. A new analysis from real estate firm Savills of these areas across the country, excluding coastal locations, shows that the average sale price for a detached house within a National Park or AONB is £450,000. This compares with a value of £347,000 for properties in the same county not within the park or AONB and represents a hefty 29.7% premium for buyers seeking their perfect property in these locations. The research report identifies key established prime and emerging prime hotspots throughout the UK and the most expensive areas were found to be in the south of the country. Surrey Hills is the most expensive green location in the prime market while Snowdonia National Park in Wales is the cheapest. The established prime areas are named as Surrey Hills where the average sale prices in 2015 was £963,000, some 82.4% over the rest of the county and up 9% compared to five years ago. Next is the South Downs with an average 2015 sale price of £721,000, some 57.6% above the rest of the county and up 20.1% over five years. Then it is the Cotswolds with an average price of £558,000, some 47% more than the rest of the area and up 9.8% over five years. Emerging prime areas are topped by Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs with an average sale price of £507,000 in 2015, some 26.5% more than the rest of the area and up 10.9% over five years. Next is the Kent Down with an average of £565,000 but this is 4.4% less than the rest of the country although average prices are up 8.4% over five years. Then is High Weald with a 2015 sales price average of £570,000, some 7% above the rest of the area and up 5.7% over five years. In the emerging prime market, the Midlands and Wales saw strong growth, with the Lincolnshire Wolds showing an 11.9% increase over a five year period, attracting a premium of 25.8% above county averages. Clwydian Range and Dee Valley in Wales has an average sale price of just £272,000 but this is some 26.2% over the country average and up 9.6% over a five year period. In the North of the country the Howardian Hills, populated with scenic villages and historic houses, maintained a 36.9% premium over the surrounding county. In the Yorkshire Dales the average 2015 sales price at £380,000 is some 27.2% compared with the rest of the country but is down 2.6% over five years. In Scotland in the Cairngorms National Park the average price of £250,000 is some 0.8% below the average and up just… Continue reading
Call for next mayor of London to form policy that will meet chronic housing shortage
The organisation that represents house builders in the UK has issued a blueprint for London’s future housing supply which hopes that politicians in the city will take it on board when forming policy. The Home Builders Federation (HBF) says that its 10 point blueprint, Capitalising on Growth, should be taken into account by this year’s candidate in the London mayoral election when declaring their policies for housing in the city which is desperately short of new homes. Current London mayor Boris Johnson is regarded as having done a lot to boost housing supply and put in place a number of measures to continue his vision but he is not standing for mayor this time. The HBF wants the candidates to adopt 'tangible, workable and realistic' policies to deliver the increases in housing supply and build on the significant increases in the number of new homes being built over the last two years. The document includes recommendations that the next mayor of London ensures sites are viable and deliverable by introducing realistic levels of affordable housing and supporting the delivery of specialist private rented housing. It also calls on the next mayor to make better use of and improve London's existing estates while working with authorities in the wider South East to create a strategic approach to delivering homes that can support London's growth. The blueprint says that the mayor neds to act as a hub to coordinate efforts by all the public bodies with land holdings in London so that more land actually comes forward for house building and it calls for more underused commercial spaces to be turned into homes. ‘We welcome the very vocal commitments of candidates to increase housing supply in London. We now need to see realistic, workable policies to be developed that will allow these homes to be built,’ said HBF executive chairman Stewart Baseley. ‘If London is to maintain its status as the world's capital city and keep on powering the national economy, it must continue to attract people, businesses and investment. The capital's chronic housing shortage and resultant affordability crisis now threatens London's status as a global powerhouse and can only be solved by a sustained increase in supply,’ he explained. ‘In just two years, housing supply has increased by over 25% but we are still only delivering around half the number of homes needed. We need to maintain a strong investment environment for developers, keep sites deliverable and ensure that planning resources are in place so that builders can obtain planning permission and get on site as quickly as possible,’ he added. Continue reading
Residential rental prices falling in Australian capital cities
Weekly rents increased by a mere 0.2% in Australian capital cities in March but overall they are down 0.2% year on year, the latest rental index shows. In the last 12 months Melbourne recorded the biggest increase in rental rates at 2%, followed by Sydney at 1.4%, Canberra at 1.2% and Hobart at 0.3%. Rents fell by 11.5% in Darwin, by 8.4% in Perth, by 1% in Adelaide and by 0.7% in Brisbane. The March Rental Review from CoreLogic RP Data analysts also shows that house rents averaged $489 per week in March 2016 while unit rents were $469 per week. Over the past month, house rents have increased by 0.1% and unit rents by 0.4% and over the past three months, house rents rose 0.5% compared to a 0.9% rise in unit rents. The March results show that recent rental increases are likely to be seasonal which is further highlighted by the fact rents are lower over the year. Over the past 12 months, house rents were 0.5% lower while unit rents increased by 1.5%. ‘It is important to note that a much higher proportion of total unit stock is rented compared to housing stock. We have been tracking the annual change in capital city rents since 1996 and this is the first time we have seen rental rates falling,’ said research analyst Cameron Kusher. ‘The extra accommodation supply, as a result of the current building boom, along with the recent record high levels of investment purchasing is adding substantial new dwelling supply to the rental market at a time when the rate of population growth is slowing from quarter to quarter. Furthermore, wages are increasing at their slowest annual pace,’ he explained. He also pointed out that the results also highlight a swift easing in rental market conditions over the past year. ‘We’ve attributed this ease to a variety of influences such as falling real wages, excess rental supply in certain areas and lower rates of population growth which have impacted on demand for rental accommodation,’ said Kusher. He explained that with dwelling approvals recently at record highs, construction activity set to peak over the next 24 months and many new properties still to settle, the rental demand weakness is expected to persist. ‘In all probability, there won’t be much scope for landlords to lift rental rates given current conditions have given greater negotiation opportunities to those in rental situation,’ he added. While rental rates remain at record highs in Sydney and Melbourne, rents are lower than their previous peaks in all remaining capital cities. Rents in Brisbane are down 0.9% from peak, down 1.2% in Adelaide, down 12.8% in Perth, down 0.1% in Hobart, down 15.6% in Darwin and down 7.4% in Canberra. Continue reading
