Tag Archives: greece
Over 36% of UK home sales fall through before completion, new research shows
More than one in three house sales in the second quarter of 2015 in the UK failed to reach completion, according to new data, with the most common reason a change of mind. Figures indicate a house sale fall through rate of 36.34%, a rise of over 13.5% from the reported 22.76% rate in the first quarter of the year, according to research from Quick Move Now. The figures over a six month period show it was 24.77% at the end of the first quarter but increased to 28.44% at the end of the second quarter of 2015. ‘As the property market becomes more buoyant and an increasing number of properties become available, both sides of a property sale feel they have options if the sale is not progressing as quickly or as well as they had hoped,’ said Danny Luke, business manager at Quick Move Now. ‘Buyers are less likely to move forward with a purchase if the survey brings up surprises, and sellers are less willing to drop the price in a renegotiation, confident that they'll be able to find another buyer fairly easily,’ he added. The firm looked at the reasoning behind the fall through rate and found that across the last six months some 22% of home sales that fell through did so as a result of the buyer changing their mind, 16% as a result of the buyer being refused lending, 13% due to slow sale progress and a further 13 % due to a higher offer coming in. Some 8.7% of the house sales that failed to reach completion did so after the buyer attempted to renegotiate, 6 % fell foul to issues that were highlighted during a survey, 5.8% failed to successfully complete due to a change in the buyer's circumstances, and a further 5.8% fell through due to a chain breakdown. It also found that 4% failed to complete because the buyer decided to buy a different property, 3% broke down due to lease issues and the remaining 3% failed to complete as a result of legal complications. Quick Move Now buys and sells hundreds of properties each year and the fall through statistics are calculated monthly, quarterly and using a six month average. Continue reading
Lettings industry unhappy about proposed tenancy changes in Scotland
Every summer on top of the thousands of tourists that arrive in Edinburgh there are thousands more seeking short term rentals for the duration of the city’s famous International Festival and Fringe. But concern is being expressed that proposed changes to the lettings market in Scotland put forward by the government could adversely affect the private rented sector’s ability to cope with the influx. On top of this there are students seeking properties to rent when the university term starts and this too could be affected by the plans, according to an analysis report from Lettingstats, part of the online property lettings firm Lettingweb. The Scottish Government has proposed that assured and short assured tenancies should be replaced by the Scottish Private Rented Tenancy (SPRT) for all letting in the private sector. It would make the current situation where a landlord rents to students during term time then to tourists and Festival workers during the summer without having to end and start a new tenancy impossible. Lettingstats believes that these new tenancy rules will stop the ability of key providers in the private rental market to offer guaranteed accommodation for both students and festival visitors. It could also affect landlords around the country who rent to students. It says that the legislation, scheduled for the autumn, will force private landlords, Edinburgh’s universities, and PBSAs to offer unlimited tenancies with no clear end dates, instantly removing these landlords’ capacity to know when they can market their properties to festival performers, visitors and students alike. ‘Private rented housing stock and university accommodation is critical to the success of Edinburgh’s festivals. The new tenancy reform proposals may be well intentioned, but the Scottish Government and City of Edinburgh Council have so far ignored the dire warnings consistently presented to them from across the entire private rented sector,’ said Lettingweb’s head of research, Dan Cookson. ‘Given that the identification of additional Festival accommodation was seen as a key recommendation in the city’s recent festival strategy, it is bizarre that the city would support tenancy reform changes that will immediately put at risk much needed accommodation capacity within the city,’ he explained. ‘Just the prospect of this legislation being introduced is already having a wider impact on the private rented sector. Landlords are starting to move to protect themselves by either transferring their tenancies over to short term only, or even considering disinvesting which would be a disaster as falling supply will inevitably push up prices,’ he pointed out. ‘Ultimately this legislation will have an unintended negative impact upon the availability of housing stock for residents, students and visitors alike. It is hugely disappointing that policy makers are ignoring the stark warnings of the sector,’ he added. Letting agents are also expressing concern. Stuart Montgomery, director of Rettie & Co, believes the legislation is based on a fallacy that landlords evict tenants from their homes… Continue reading
Economic crisis not affecting interest in Greek property, it is suggested
Estate agents are seeing a steady stream of enquiries about property in Greece, especially at the high end, but prospective holiday home buyers might want to adopt a wait and see approach due to the current financial crisis in the country. One agent seeing demand is Chestertons International which has found that so far the property market has proved to be stable and in particular, the island of Mykonos continues to grow in popularity. ‘If clients are not looking primarily for investment but want to own a second lifestyle property, then Greece continues to offer everything that it has always had to offer. If, however, clients are looking for future investment they will need to take into account both the economic environment and the ultimate currency that Greece might use,’ said Neville Page director of International at Chestertons. He explained that it is currently difficult to predict the final outcome of the negotiations between Greece and its European partners, but opinion seems to be becoming polarised between either Greek remaining in the Eurozone or re-establishing its own currency. ‘If Greece remains in the euro we would be very optimistic about property markets in the short term, particularly with the currency fluctuations in the euro we have seen in 2015, meaning new UK based investors can get more for their pounds,’ Page explained. ‘In the event that Greece was to adopt a different currency, there would be the strong risk of devaluation in the short term. However, this could provide a buying opportunity for the brave investor who recognises the enduring long term appeal of Greece,’ he added. Louise Reynolds, director of overseas property agency Property Venture, believes that if Greece introduces a new local currency, in all likelihood it would depreciate immediately. ‘The International Monetary Fund (IMF), has in the past predicted Greece would need a devaluation of at least 20% against the Eurozone average, just to balance its current account. Such devaluation would increase Greek competitiveness, but would have huge legal ramifications with regard to the existing debt owed to Europe and the IMF,’ she said. ‘The danger lies with the capital flows, which are the biggest unknown. The world’s central banks will do their utmost, as they did during 2008, to prevent financial meltdown or contain the damage through a range of mechanisms such as bank capitalisation, foreign currency swaps, and potentially capital controls,’ she added. She thinks property buyers in Greece and home owners may want to make sure they have access to money in an international bank, given the capital controls in place. ‘If Greece leaves the Eurozone, it is likely that savings in the state-controlled banks would be converted into local currency which are likely to be worthless. It is also likely that a mortgage could be converted into local currency so mortgage holders could benefit if there is a devaluation-effect,’ she added. Those who already own property have seen lettings… Continue reading
