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Millions of pounds handed over to councils for new homes in UK
Housing Zones around the UK are now receiving funding that the government says will kick start work to build tens of thousands of new homes. Nearly £6.3 million is being distributed to help revive brownfield sites across the country which comes on top of a £1.2 billion Starter Home Fund designed to prepare brownfield sites for at least 30,000 new homes. The funds will be used to speed up work, enabling homes to be delivered quickly and most of it will go to councils to help with work in 19 out of the 20 flagship Housing Zones, which are described as a new approach to getting new homes built easily and quickly. The 20 Housing Zones, spread across the country, will see councils working in partnership with private developers to deliver the new homes on brownfield land. Housing Minister Brandon Lewis also said that the government is also committing to work with an additional eight short listed potential Zones and together these have the potential to deliver 45,000 new homes. ‘Housing Zones offer enormous potential to use brownfield land for new homes which is why this government is determined to get them built out as soon as possible. This funding will play an important part in getting work underway which will lead to new homes and more security for aspiring home owners,’ he explained. ‘Britain is building again with the number of new homes up 25% in the past year and these zones will play an important part in giving an extra million people the chance to achieve their dream of home ownership,’ he added. The funding includes £600,000 in Guildford, £27,000 in Hertsmere, £700,000 in Thurrock, £150,000 in Gedling, £165,000 in Greater Gainsborough, £240,000 in Stoke city centre, £213,616 in Derby and £220,000 in Gateshead. There is also £365,000 in York, £261,000 in Wakefield, £165,000 in Preston, £700,000 in Weston-Super-Mare, £124,116 in East Hampshire, £300,000 in Gloucester, £313,000 in Bath and North East Somerset, £100,000 in Hinkley, £300,000 in Bristol, £330,000 in Tewkesbury and £30,000 in Poole. The remaining £740,000 from the fund will be used to provide specialist technical support to the Zones. There will be further new developments coming in 2016 as part of the Housing and Planning Bill including a new legal duty on councils to guarantee the delivery of Starter Homes on all reasonably sized new development sites, and to promote the delivery of Starter Homes in their area. Also there will be permission in principle for sites identified in plans and brownfield registers to give certainty around the sites that are suitable for housing, while protecting the green belt and planning reforms to support small builders requiring councils to ensure they have shovel ready plots to match the local demand for custom build. Continue reading
Property sales in Auckland, New Zealand, see steep fall at end of 2015
Property prices in Auckland, New Zealand, remained stable last month but there was a significant fall in the number of sales compared to those in November and a year ago. The average sales price for December at $869,492, down 0.8% on November's record average price while the median price rose to an all-time high of $800,000, up 0.6% on that for November, according to data from Barfoot and Thompson ‘From a price perspective, the market was rock steady but sales data for the final month of 2015 is sending mixed messages as to where the market will head in 2016,’ said Peter Thompson, the firm’s managing director. The data reveals that sales for the month at 796 were 19.3% lower than in November, and it was the lowest number of sales in a December for four years. December's sales were also the lowest in any month for the past 22 months. While in December new listings at 757 were down 555 on those in November, Thompson explained that this level of decline is quite normal and they were the highest in a December for four years. ‘The factor most likely to impact on January sales was the extremely low number of listings at the end of December which, at 2431, was down 25.2% on those in November, and the lowest number for any month for more than 20 years,’ he said. ‘With a growing population and the number of new builds failing to keep pace with demand, competition for properties is likely to remain strong in the first quarter of 2016. January's sales data is always influenced by the summer holiday period, and it is likely to be the middle of March, when February's sales data is available, that a clearer understanding of prospects for 2016 emerge,’ he pointed out. ‘What is clear, however, is that with so few properties on the market, now is an excellent time to list,’ he added. The figures also show that in December some 278 properties sold for in excess of $1 million and a further 202 for in excess of $750,000. Sales of properties in the under $500,000 price category at 44 made up 5.5% of all sales. In 2015, the average sale price of homes for the full year was $817,096, an increase of 14% on that for 2014 and 25.8% over 2013's average sales price. The median price for 2015 was $755,333, some 17.4% higher than 2014's median price and 30.5% higher than that for 2013. Continue reading
UK house market showed no end of year let up as prices rose 1.7%
House prices in the UK increased by 1.7% in December, showing none of the traditional end of year slowdown, the latest index figures show, prices now set to keep rising in 2016. The data from UK lender the Halifax, also shows that year on year prices have risen by 9.5% and were up 1.6% quarter on quarter, taking the average price to £208,286. However, the quarterly rate of change remained below 2% for the second successive month and was at its lowest values during 2015. But the annual rate of change remained in the 8% to 10% range throughout the year. The Halifax report also points out that the monthly house price pattern seen during the second half of 2015 has fluctuated and the quarter on quarter change is a more reliable indicator of the underlying trend. Newham in London recorded the biggest rise in house prices among major UK towns and cities over the past year, according to separate recent research by the Halifax. The average house price in the London borough was 22% higher than in the previous year and nearly double the 12% increase in London as a whole. Those areas that have seen the biggest house price increases over the past year are either in outer London or within close commuting distance of the capital. ‘There remains, however, a substantial gap between demand and supply with the latest figures showing a further decline in the number of properties available for sale,’ said Martin Ellis, Halifax housing economist. ‘This situation is unlikely to change significantly in the short-term, resulting in continuing upward pressure on prices,’ he added. According to Rob Weaver, director of Investments at property crowdfunding platform Property Partner, the fact that house price growth was 1.7% in the traditionally quiet month of December underlines the upward pressure on prices caused by the supply and demand imbalance. ‘With such extreme supply side issues, prices look set to move in only one direction throughout 2016. December may well have set a precedent for the year ahead. There will naturally be regional variations throughout the year but overall the trajectory of the UK property market will be upwards,’ he said. ‘As ever, London and the South East are likely to outperform due to the exaggerated supply issue and overall demographic in that corner of the country. The significant house price growth seen in Newham reinforces how the balance of power in the capital has moved from the centre to the peripheries, where gentrification, regeneration and infrastructure improvements are driving price rises,’ he explained. Jonathan Hopper, managing director of Garrington Property Finders, said that overall 2015 ended much as it began with demand outstripping supply in many areas and the resulting tension driving up prices. But he also pointed out that the start of 2015 was hampered by caution as some sectors of the market paused to see what would happened with the general election, for example, but there are no such… Continue reading
