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Almost half of home owners in London putting selling plans on hold due to EU vote
Almost half of home owners in London intend to put any plans they have to buy or sell on hold under after the referendum in June on the future of the UK in the European Union. A survey has found that 47% will not get involved until after the vote and Bishop’s move, which commissioned the poll, believes that uncertainty over the outcome of the EU referendum is likely to slow London’s housing market in the coming months. In the poll 20% of Londoners said whether the UK stays or leaves the EU would not play any part in their decision to put their house on the market, and a further 32% said they weren’t sure. But 30% of home owners in London also believe that leaving the EU would actually strengthen the value of their home compared to 13% who believe that leaving the EU will not have an impact at all on the value of their home. Just13% in the neighbouring South East region said that an ‘out’ vote would add value to their property. The survey also discovered a significant proportion of younger generations would prefer to wait for the outcome of the EU vote. Some 46% of those aged 16 to 24 and 43% of those aged 24 to 35 said they intend to wait for the outcome of the vote compared to 16% of those aged between 45 to 54 and just 9% of those aged 55 and above. With almost half of London home owners willing to wait until after the EU referendum, in contrast just 11% in the East of England, 14% in the North East, and 15% in Yorkshire and the Humber claimed that they would prefer to wait until after the EU referendum to sell their property. ‘This paints a picture of the both the attitude towards the EU referendum amongst London homeowners and also their approach towards the price of property in the capital. It’s actually a very similar situation we found in Scotland during its 2014 independence referendum,’ said Chris Marshall, sales and marketing director at Bishop’s Move. ‘Significant policy decisions can severely impact the UK housing market and our own research last year also found almost a quarter of those looking to buy and sell a property delayed their move by one to four months in order to wait for the outcome of the General Election,’ he pointed out. ‘However, whilst these results point to a slowdown in the build-up to June, we fully anticipate business to resume as usual, particularly when the school holidays arrive and everyone wants to get their moves completed during the break,’ he added. Continue reading
Slow start to the year for property prices and rents in UAE
Residential property prices and rents have fallen in Dubai at the start of 2016, with the latest index figures indicating a falling or stagnant market. Overall property prices rose just 0.09% in January and were down 9.6% year on year, according to the data from the latest ReidIn index. A breakdown of the figures shows that apartment prices fell 0.19% month on month and 9.7% year on year while villa prices increased 1.23% but are down 8.9% year on year. Overall property rental values fell by 1.57% and were down 5.3% year on year. Apartment rents fell 1.67% month on month and 5.2% year on year while villa rents were down 0.9% month on month and 5.9% year on year. In neighbouring Abu Dhabi Residential the property markets are also more or less stagnant with the overall property price index up by 0.62% month on month and by 0.1% year on year. Apartment prices increased 0.89% month on month but were down 2.6% year on year while villa prices increased 0.13% month on month and 3.1% year on year. The rental market in Abu Dhabi was slightly more buoyant and values increased by 2.11% in January compared to December but are down 1.8% compared to January 2015. A breakdown of the figures show that apartment rents increased 2.3 month on month but were down 0.9% year on year while villa rents increased 1.86% month on month but were down 1.6% year on year. Continue reading
Need for affordable housing not likely to be met by Starter Homes scheme
The vast majority of councils in England do not think that Starter Homes should be classified as affordable housing and only 7% of councils think they will address the need for affordable housing in their local authority areas. Indeed, new research shows that local councils, of all political parties, believe that the Government's Starter Homes policy will hinder rather than help to tackle the growing need for genuinely affordable housing in England. They have also raised concerns about the impacts of the Government's plans to reduce social rents by 1% a year for the next four years and the extension of the Right to Buy to housing association tenants, according to a survey commissioned by the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) and the Association for Public Sector Excellence (APSE). It found that over two thirds of councils, 69%, anticipate that they will be building less social and affordable housing as a result of the Government's plans to reduce social rents by 1% a year for the next four years. Only 3% say they plan to build more social and affordable homes as a result. ‘Low cost home ownership, such as starter homes, may help some people get a first step on the housing ladder, but as the survey of council's highlights this will not address the need for genuinely affordable homes,’ said Kate Henderson, chief executive of the TCPA. ‘We need a housing strategy for the nation that provides decent homes for everyone in society, including those most in need in the current housing crisis. Our survey has revealed that four out of five councils do not think starter homes should be classified as affordable housing because they are simply not affordable for essential low paid workers or for many people on average incomes,’ she added. Almost three fifths of councils described their need for more affordable housing as severe and 37% as moderate, and 89% of respondents think that the extension of Right to Buy will lead to less housing available for social rent, with only one council thinking that it would be beneficial. ‘What is clear from these survey results is that the headlong rush to extend Right to Buy to housing associations is an ill-thought out measure which enjoys little support, and this is reflected across the different political parties at a local level,’ said Paul O'Brien, chief executive of APSE. ‘With Nine out of 10 councils genuinely concerned that the extension of the Right to Buy to housing association tenants will further diminish the already short supply of socially rented homes, available in their local communities, we say to Government now is the right time to listen on Right to Buy,’ he added. Continue reading
