Tag Archives: finance
Warning over implications of changes in Renters’ Rights Bill in UK
The Association of Independent Inventory Clerks (AIIC) is urging the Government to re-evaluate its Renters' Rights Bill, which includes measures to stop letting agents charging tenants for an inventory check. The industry body says that these costs will simply be passed to landlords who will then incorporate them into tenants' rent. Earlier this month, the Renters' Rights Bill, which also includes measures to ban agents charging tenants registration fees, admin fees, reference check fees, renewal fees and exit fees, was given an unopposed second reading in the House of Lords. The Private Members' Bill was set up by Baroness Grender and has received strong support from Labour and the Liberal Democrats and it is thought the Bill has a strong chance of success as it now runs alongside a petition against agent fees charged to tenants, which has been gaining support since March and has now received well in excess of 250,000 signatures. ‘Here at the Association of Independent Inventory Clerks, we're strongly opposed to the banning of inventory fees charged to tenants by letting agents,’ said Patricia Barber, chair of the AIIC. ‘We envisage that if banned these charges would continue to be charged to tenants through the unspecified and unclear means of a higher rent,’ she explained, adding that not being able to charge tenants a fee may encourage some letting agents to bypass inventories altogether, something which could be extremely costly for all parties involved. ‘A detailed inventory helps landlords, agents and tenants to determine exactly how the property's condition has changed over the course of the tenancy, what can be deemed fair wear and tear and what needs to be replaced and therefore deducted from the tenant's deposit,’ Barber pointed out. ‘We totally understand that some fees charged to tenants are too high and complicated, but we believe that if fair and worthwhile fees like inventory checks are made clear to the tenant then there should be no problem in them being charged,’ she said. ‘The vast majority of letting agents are transparent in the fees they charge to tenants. Banning fees altogether and particularly inventory check fees is certainly not the answer and could contribute to more deposit disputes and property damage further down the line,’ she added. She also pointed out that the Renters' Rights Bill remains some way off becoming law as it still has to pass through the House of Commons before receiving Royal Assent. Its next stage is the Committee stage in the House of Lords, a date for which is yet to be announced. The AIIC is the UK's largest membership organisation for independent clerks and recently announced that it has joined the Property Redress Scheme. Continue reading
New home sales in Australia fall for second month in a row
Total new home sales in Australia fell for a second consecutive month in May 2016 but experts say it is cyclical downturn and nothing to worry about. Total seasonally adjusted new home sales declined by 4.4% following a 4.7% fall in April 2016. The sale of detached houses fell by 6.7% but apartments were up by 4.9%. The data also shows that detached house sales declined in three of the five mainland states with a fall of 11.5% in New South Wales, a fall of 8.2% in Victoria and a fall of 11% in Queensland. But detached house sales increased by 3.8% in South Australia and by 5.4% in Western Australia. The figures should not cause alarm, according to the Housing Industry Association. ‘There is a cyclical downturn ahead for new residential construction activity, as new home sales signal, but the early pull-back will be mild by historical standards,’ said HIA chief economist Harley Dale. ‘We remain of the view that a decline in new dwelling commencements will gather momentum in 2016/2017 and 2017/2018, following four years of growth which has delivered enormous benefits to the broader Australian economy,’ he explained. ‘This economic benefit delivered by new home construction in recent years is unprecedented. It creates a platform for the Federal government to provide leadership on the key issues of new housing supply, affordability and home ownership, which will in turn benefit Australia’s economic growth and future standard of living,’ he added. Meanwhile the HIA’s regular review of Australia’s $30 billion home renovations market show that the sector is very much in recovery mode with 2015 marking the second consecutive year of growth. This followed a deep slump during the early years of the decade. The Renovations Roundup report projects that renovations activity will increase by 2.5% this year with growth of 1.7% forecast for 2017. The HIA also projects that activity will grow by 2.8% in 2018 followed by a 2% increase in 2019, bringing the total volume of renovations activity to $33.30 billion. According to Shane Garrett, HIA senior economist, the recovery in renovations activity is being supported by the environment of remarkably low interest rates and very strong dwelling price growth in key markets. ‘In this context, many home owners have decided to shelve plans to move house and instead conduct major renovations work on their existing homes. The large pool of available home equity has made this possible,’ he explained. ‘However, the pace is growth is being held back by the weakness of earnings growth in the economy and the fragile condition of consumer sentiment. The importance of home renovations activity is often underestimated and it accounted for about 35% of total residential construction during 2015,’ he said. ‘With new home building set to decline over the coming years, the expansion of the renovations market means that its importance will only increase. The revival in renovations activity will provide a welcome offset to the more challenging situation emerging on the new… Continue reading
Demand for homes in UK falls to three year low, according to estate agents
Uncertainty created by the UK’s decision to leave the European Union has triggered demand for property to fall to the lowest level seen in three years, according to a new report. The number of house sales agreed in May dropped in the run up to the referendum and the majority of estate agents believe that demand will fall further in the short term, according to the latest housing report from the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA). Estate agents recorded an average of 304 house hunters registered per member branch in May, as uncertainty in the lead up to the referendum stalled buyers. This was down 6% from April, and the lowest recorded since November 2013 when 292 buyers were registered per branch. The data also shows that compared to May 2015 when 383 house hunters were recorded, demand has decreased by 21% year on year. In line with falling demand in May, the supply of houses available to buyers increased marginally from 35 properties available to buy per branch in April to 37 in May. The number of sales agreed in May decreased to an average of eight per branch, a drop from nine in April falling to the same level seen during the seasonal slowdown in January. In May some 41% of agents predicted that house prices will fall and 30% expect demand will also decrease as a result of a the referendum result. Although the number of house hunters registered per branch and sales agreed fell in May, sales to first time buyers increased marginally. Some 27% of the total sales completed last month were to first time buyers, an increase of one percentage point from April. ‘The EU referendum without doubt meant that May was a month of uncertainty for potential house buyers and demand dropped significantly and is currently at the lowest level we have seen in the last three years,’ said Mark Hayward, NAEA managing director. ‘As a result of the vote for a Brexit, we expect international investors to look a lot harder at the UK as a potential market to buy in and this will have a knock on effect on the house building sector, as investments may be delayed or put off completely,’ he pointed out. ‘Although in the short term, we believe that house prices will remain stable, we cannot be certain about the next quarter as political uncertainty and market unrest could affect the housing market,’ he explained. He also pointed out that the supply of available housing is still extremely low compared to this time last year, which is particularly worrying. ‘As we continue to say, there are simply not a sufficient number of homes available in this country to cater for everyone’s needs and a Brexit could impact the skills required to drive property developments in the UK,’ said Hayward. ‘This means that… Continue reading
