Tag Archives: finance
Buy to let landlords face paying more for a mortgage in the UK, it is claimed
Buy to let investors could face paying an extra £10,000 to get a mortgage after a crackdown on dangerous debts by UK lenders. Watchdog the Prudential Regulation Authority is concerned that some landlords are overstretching themselves and will face difficulties when interest rates rise and it is expected that the banks and building societies will start making new hefty charges from September 2016. As a result, it is forcing lenders to run stricter tests to see whether an investor can afford the loan. Currently, investors have to prove they would earn enough from the rent to cover their repayments, but the new plan demands proof they would still be covered if rates rose by at least 2%. Under the new tests, banks and building societies will want evidence of a yield of at least 5.2% to qualify for a 25% deposit loan. This would mean earning £7,800 a year from rent on a £150,000 home before paying the mortgage. To pass the tests, investors will have to either raise rents to ensure they would be covered if interest rates soared, or reduce borrowing. However, according to Peter Armistead of Armistead Property, savvy investors can absorb these new charges by buying cheaper property with higher yields. ‘Clearly the investors most at risk are those with smaller deposits who buy property in parts of the UK where rents are low compared with house prices. This is a particular problem in places such as London and the South East where the average annual returns between 2010 and 2015, was just 4.86% in outer London and 4.71% in the City, according to LendInvest,’ he explained. He pointed out that house prices in London are about five times what they are in parts of the North West, but salaries are only 30% higher. Manchester and Liverpool deliver some of the best rental yields, with Manchester recording average annual rental yields of 6.02% over five years, followed by Liverpool with 5.15% yields. He also said that an average residential property in Manchester is just £155,000, while a flat in a good area, costs as little as £120,000. A property in Manchester can provide a 5% minimum cash rental yield and a typical 12% total cash yield, including 7% capital appreciation. Demand for rental accommodation is strong and by comparison with other regions, housing is cheaper. ‘Landlords will find the best returns in urban areas, with a concentration of students and young professionals. If investors can purchase cheaper properties with better yields, they will have the opportunity to protect and boost their profits in the longer term,’ added Armistead. Continue reading
UK property supply down almost 5% in May
Residential property supply in the UK increased by 4.8% in May but a breakdown of the figures show that the number of homes for sale fell in half of the towns covered by the index. In total month on month supply was down in 50.4% of towns with the biggest falls coming in the towns of Southport and Loughborough at 28% and 24.1% respectively. The data from the index from online estate agent HouseSimple also shows that towns in the Midlands saw the biggest increase in supply with Lichfield up 56% and Chesterfield up 36%. The index, which tracks the number of new properties marketed every month in more than 100 major towns and cities across the UK and all London boroughs, also shows that of the areas that saw the biggest falls in supply some 47% were in the North of England. In London supply was also down by 2.4% overall in May with the City of Westminster seeing the biggest drop at 33%. The overall fall follows a decline of just 0.8% in April. The borough of Bexley also saw a significant fall following a huge peak in April, when new property listings were up 58.9%. However, despite the overall fall in London dome 53% of its 32 boroughs saw an increase in supply last month. Waltham Forest saw property supply rise 31% month on month following an 8% increase in April and Merton saw supply increase 30% in May following a 15% increase in April. ‘Although property supply was up in May, in large swathes of the country, the number of new properties listed fell,’ said the firm’s chief executive officer Alex Gosling. He believes that the confidence of buyers could be affected by the forthcoming referendum on the future of the UK in the European Union and predicts that in the run up to the poll on 23 June there could be a significant drop off in activity at a time when historically there is a lot of activity in the property market. ‘On the flip side, this could actually provide an opportunity for prospective buyers, who have their finance in place and can move fast, as they may be able to negotiate a good deal with motivated sellers keen to tie up a sale before 23 June,’ he added. Continue reading
House price growth slowing in Spain, but headline figures mask regional differences
Although generally the housing market in Spain is perceived as recovering well there are signs of growth slowing, according to some of the latest figures to be published. Residential prices grew by 1.3% in May and by 1.5% in the first five months of the year, but this is lower than the 1.9% registered up until the end of April. The data from the latest index property appraisers, Tinsa, also shows that the average price of a property in Spain is still down 41.4% since 2007. However, the national figures hide signs of real growth in some sectors and locations. For example, prices in capitals and large cities as well as in the Balearic and Canary Islands were up 3.5% year on year in May. On the Mediterranean Coast prices increased by 1.6% and metropolitan areas saw smaller annual growth at 0.7%. But in the rest of the municipalities category prices have been falling, down 2.5%. But even the breakdown of the figures shows there are signs of slowing growth. Since the beginning of 2016 average prices on the Mediterranean Coast remained at the same level as the beginning of the year but were up 1.3% in the capitals and large cities and the metropolitan areas. In the first five months of the year the rest of the municipalities category saw growth of 1.5%, and the Balearic and Canary Islands have seen the strongest price growth at 4.2%. Meanwhile, the latest asking price index from property portal Fotocasa shows that sellers reduced their price expectations by an average of 0.7% in April compared to a year ago. The average asking price in April was €1,624 per square meter, down by 0.2% month on month but overall the index has been stable for 12 months now with prices never varying more than 1% either up or down. Beatriz Toribio, head of research at Fotocasa, believes that house prices will continue to go in different directions during 2016. ‘Whilst in some areas of the country prices are stabilising or even rising, in others they continue to fall hard. This is a consequence of the crisis the sector has lived through, which has left a market of two or more speeds,’ she explained. Official figures released by the Government also suggest a slowing in recent months. It says that year on year prices have increased by 2.4% but by only 0.2% in the first quarter of 2016. A breakdown of the figures show that house prices rose the most in the Balearics with growth of 9.6%, followed by Catalonia up 4.9%, Madrid up 4.2%, Extremadura up 3.7%, Galicia up 2.6%, the Valencian region up 2.4%, and the Canaries also up 2.4%. Continue reading
