Tag Archives: homes
Homes near grass court tennis clubs in the UK attract a price premium
With the most popular tennis tournament in the UK due to start in Wimbledon new research reveals that property in the area is the most expensive near a tennis venue in the world. Average property prices in Wimbledon Village currently stand at £1,591,939 compared to just £459,957 near the French Open ground of Roland Garros, according to the data compiled by online estate agents HouseSimple. This compared to £604,932 near Melbourne Park, the Australian Open venue and £466,193 close to the site of the US Open in Flushing Meadows. However, average property prices across the whole of the SW19 postcode are are a little more reasonable at £874,857. But those seeking a property next to some of the other tennis clubs with grass courts in the UK will also have to pay a lot more than surrounding areas with a premium of as much as 282%. For example, the average price of property near to the Holland Park Lawn Tennis Club is just over £4.34 million, some 281.5% more than the average of £1,138,333 for that postcode area. Slightly more affordable, are property prices near to the Halton Tennis Centre, close to Aylesbury, in Buckinghamshire. At an average of £642,917, they are 54.6% higher than the £415,783 for the postcode area. Similarly for homes next to the Hurlingham Club in south west London the average price is £2,694,130 compared to the average in the area of £1,110,978, a difference of 142.5%. But there is not much difference around the Queen’s Club, also in south west London, with just 0.2% price differential. Alex Gosling, the firm’s chief executive officer, pointed out that property prices close to the Wimbledon Championships pale in comparison to average prices next to the Holland Park Lawn Tennis Club. ‘Even if you combined the men’s and women’s winner’s cheques, they still wouldn’t cover the average price of a property in the area,’ he added. Continue reading
New research shows the worst rates of negative equity in the US
As the housing market continues to recover in the United States, home owners who are underwater on their mortgages are increasingly concentrated in the Rust Belt, according to the latest real estate report. The data from the Negative Equity Report from real estate firm Zillow also shows that West Coast home owners are less likely to be in negative equity. Nationally, 12.7% of home owners with a mortgage were in negative equity, meaning they owed more on their mortgage than their homes were worth. However, negative equity is down from a peak level of 31.4% in the first quarter of 2012. For years, Las Vegas has been the prime example of the housing bubble and bust, with nearly three quarters of mortgaged home owners underwater when the market bottomed out in in the first quarter of 2012. But Chicago now has the highest negative equity rate among large US markets, surpassing Las Vegas in the first quarter of 2016. At its worst, Chicago had a 41.1% rate of negative equity, but its recovery has been sluggish and the negative equity rate has declined more slowly than elsewhere. As the housing market recovered, the distribution of underwater home owners across the country has shifted. In the first quarter of 2012, the West Coast, Southeast, and Rust Belt regions had a disproportionately greater share of underwater home owners. For example, the Southeast had 20.4% of homes with a mortgage, but 24.9% of homes in negative equity. Four years later, the West Coast, home to hot markets like the Bay Area, Portland, and Seattle, has only 10.2% of home owners with negative equity, but 15.2% of all mortgaged home owners. The imbalance was worst in the Rust Belt region, which includes Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio, and which had an unevenly large share of underwater home owners. ‘When the housing bubble burst, the West Coast had more than its fair share of underwater homeowners. But the strong local economy and job markets have significantly helped these housing markets recover, and several are now more expensive than they were during the housing bubble,’ said Zillow chief economist Svenja Gudell. ‘Other parts of the country didn't get those same benefits, and until market fundamentals improve, home owners and buyers in these areas will be facing disproportionately higher levels of negative equity as they navigate the housing market,’ she added. The data also shows that four of the 10 metros with the highest rates of negative equity are in the Rust Belt. Meanwhile, the West Coast is home to five of the 10 metros with the lowest levels of negative equity. Continue reading
Call for UK to drop tax on new prime property developments
The UK Chancellor George Osborne should pause housing tax at the top end of the market or risk distorting the wider market, it is claimed in anew analysis report. Up to a 100% rise in stamp duty on high luxury homes has seen buyer interest drop at a time when there has been a 40% rise in prime properties planned in London, according to the report from design and consultancy firm Arcadis. It points out that the unintended consequences of successive stamp duty rises means projects in development for a number of years have been disproportionately affected and the delivery of affordable homes could be threatened as a result. Despite initially encouraging investment in prime residential property as a means of stimulating wider economic growth, the government has since changed policies mid-cycle, the report suggests. It says that this is regardless of the fact that many developers have already committed to major schemes. Since the end of 2014, the stamp duty alone on a £6 million home has almost doubled, rising from £420,000 to £810,000 when bought as a second property. The timing of these reforms has come just when certain parts of the market had already begun to slow. In order to ensure sales, some developers who had committed to schemes before 2014’s reforms have been forced to discount prices or resort to ‘stamp duty paid’ deals. These sales discounts have hit margins by as much as 4% on prime homes and up to 7% on super prime properties. Meanwhile, others have opted merely to delay construction, meaning that a significant number of affordable homes, planned as part of the original development, are not being built as quickly. Furthermore, with fewer would-be purchasers willing to pay such high rates of tax, many investors are eyeing homes under the £1.5 million price threshold. This additional wave of interest risks distorting the mid-market and inadvertently pricing out those people who would typically be looking to purchase these as family homes, the research adds. According to Mark Cleverly, Arcadis head of commercial development, to accelerate the delivery of affordable housing currently in the pipeline and ensure the construction sector remains sustainable, the Chancellor must impose a temporary reduction in stamp duty on new build properties. In tandem with this, he must better focus the debate onto ensuring acceptable levels of affordable housing are delivered as part of new developments. Cleverly suggests that this approach would get the market moving again, meaning both a steady flow of affordable homes coming onto the capital’s market and making schemes viable again for developers, safeguarding jobs and ensuring development can proceed as planned. ‘The Chancellor has to act on prime property tax. Despite initially encouraging investment in prime housing, the government since changed its mind and attempted to stem demand through ongoing tax increases and new fiscal regulations. This has prompted a drop in buyer interest at the very top of the market, creating… Continue reading
