Tag Archives: french
Demand from buy to let landlords for remortgages likely to rise in 2016
Buy to let remortgage transactions outstripped purchases by more than two to one in 2015 but this could be reversed in 2016, according to the latest industry sector index report. Remortgages for vanilla buy to let property accounted for 64% of transactions with Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) and Multi-Unit Freehold Blocks (MUFBs) seeing even greater remortgage activity at 78% and 88% of transactions respectively, the data from specialist brokers Mortgages for Business shows. The results aren’t surprising, according to David Whittaker, managing director of Mortgages for Business. ‘For some time now landlords have been making considerable savings through remortgaging. Many have also been releasing equity to make improvements and plan further purchases,’ he said. ‘However, I anticipate that we will see a reversal of this trend in the first quarter of this year as landlords hurry to expand their portfolios before the stamp duty surcharge kicks in on 01 April,’ he explained. ‘The number of enquiries for purchase finance is already well ahead of where we were this time last year, particularly from those looking to sell their personally owned property into a corporate vehicle,’ he added. Although yields across all property types rallied in the fourth quarter of 2015, in real terms they continue to plateau as rental income fails to keep pace with rising property prices. However, returns for the more complex properties remain healthy and well above the psychologically important 6% mark. The number of lenders operating in the market remained static at 33. However, the number of buy to let mortgage products available to borrowers grew slightly to an average of 975. ‘It is unlikely that this average figure will be topped going forward unless new lenders enter the market, or some of the existing providers start to offer products to limited companies. Of course, that figure is only an average, at one point at the beginning of December our tracking system showed 1,168 products,’ Whittaker pointed out. Continue reading
Two sets of figures confirm improvement in sales and prices in Spain
Residential property sales and prices in Spain are rising year on year and more new mortgages are being granted, suggesting the market continues to recover from the economic downturn. The latest figures from the General Council of Notaries show that in September sales increased by 8.7%, house prices rose by 1.7%, and the number of new mortgage loans granted grew by 17.4%. Overall sales stood at 30,328 transactions in September but saes of new homes are not doing well. Indeed, while second hand homes sales increased by 13% year on year, sales of new homes fell by 19.7%. Sales of individual family homes also registered significant growth of 14.7% year on year. The data also shows that the average price per square meter was €1,242, a rise of 1.7% compared to September 2014. Apartments saw prices rise by 2.7% year on year and individual family homes were up 2.3%. A breakdown of the figures shows that new apartments are doing better than existing sales. The average price per square metre of second hand apartments was €1,359, a rise of 2% year on year, while the average price for new apartments was €1,632 euros per square metre, an increase of 13.6% year on year. The Notaires report also says that the home mortgage market in Spain is improving and mirroring the upturn in the real estate sector. The number of new loans approved increased by 17.4% year on year. The average mortgage value was €122,993, a rise of 0.1% compared to September 2014. The statistics also shows that the percentage of home purchases financed through a mortgage was 39.7%, with the average amount of the loan 77.1% of the property value. The latest quarterly data from property registrars confirms the good news. They show that prices increased by 6.6% year on year in the third quarter of 2015, and 2.2% quarter on quarter. It means that prices are now 28.4% below the peak of the market in 2007. The data also shows that sales increased by 6.4% quarter on quarter and 16.6% year on year but they also confirm that new home sales are not doing as well. Quarter on quarter existing homes sales increased by 8.8% while new home sales fell by 2.5%. There has also been an increase in foreign buyers. They bought 13.5% of properties sold in the third quarter compared to 12.8% in the second quarter of 2015. British buyers were the most prolific with 23% of sales to overseas buyers, followed by the French at 8.7%, Germans at 6.4%, Swedes also at 6.4% and Belgians at 5.5%. The number of Russian buyers continue to fall, down to 3.4%. Continue reading
New analysis shows that demand for property in the Alps is rising
Demand for Alpine property is rising, spurred on by a more resilient Eurozone, greater clarity over tax and the second home cap in Switzerland, as well as a weaker euro, says a new analysis report. The latest results of the Knight Frank Prime Ski Property Index underline a broadly stable market environment with only 13% percentage points separating the strongest and weakest performer. Val d’Isere and Meribel lead the 2015 Ski Property Index recording annual price growth of 5.8% and 4.5% respectively Prime sales activity in the French Alps is focussed between €1.5 and €2.5 million with resorts such as Chamonix and Courchevel 1550 increasingly popular . Indeed, the number of sales completed in Megeve in the first half of 2015 was double the number of sales agreed during the whole of 2014 while previous uncertainty in the Swiss market is giving way to renewed optimism as clarity emerges surrounding taxation and the second home cap. The report points out that currency movements have played a pivotal role in determining demand across the region. For many, having decided to buy a ski home, choosing where to buy and weighing up the pros and cons of the different ski resorts can be a challenging task. The report also points out that Swiss rules on who can buy what, and where, can be complex for even the most experienced property lawyer due to the rules for residents and non-residents according to Lex Koller and Lex Weber. Home to the world’s oldest ski resorts, the French and Swiss Alps attract in excess of 80 million ski visits per annum and account for a third of the total number of ski resorts worldwide. In the past year ski homes in Europe’s top resorts have continued on the same trajectory that they have been following since 2008 with no radical acceleration or deceleration just small single digit shifts year on year. Overall, the index proved largely static with only a marginal 1% fall recorded in the year to June 2015. Val d’Isere and Meribel lead the 2015 rankings with the price of a typical four or five bedroom chalet in each resort rising by 5.8% and 4.5% respectively in the year to June. The report explains that the length of Val d’Isere’s ski season explains its long- standing appeal, particularly with British buyers. Few other Alpine resorts can guarantee sufficient snow to ski during both the Christmas and Easter holiday periods. In Meribel’s case, a combination of its location in the heart of The Three Valleys and its pricing explains its 4.5% increase year on year. Meribel provides better value than Courchevel 1850, but can compete with 1550 and 1650 in terms of facilities. Investment in the form of new residential developments such as Olympe in Les Allues and Point de Vue in Meribel Village has also helped to build confidence amongst buyers, the report explains. In real price terms, the exclusive resorts of Courchevel 1850… Continue reading
