Tag Archives: homes
Property asking prices in Ireland rebound at start of 2016
The residential property market in Ireland is set to rebound in 2016 as price momentum has already been growing in the first quarter of the year, according to the latest survey report. But Dublin is likely to lag behind the rest of the country according to the latest house price survey from MyHome.ie. The data shows that having declined towards the end of 2015, asking prices for newly listed properties for sale rose by 2.1% nationally and by 0.9% in Dublin in the first quarter of 2016, the first gain in Dublin since the first half of 2015 and follows two quarters where prices declined marginally. The report predicts Irish house price inflation will register another solid gain of close to 5% in 2016, with the rest of the country leading Dublin, due to affordability constraints in the capital. The mix adjusted asking price for new sales nationally is €220,000, an increase of €5,000 compared to the final quarter of 2015 while the corresponding figure for Dublin is €315,000, an increase of €2,600. The author of the report, Conall MacCoille, chief economist at Davy, said a key factor supporting house prices this year will be a tighter housing market and he pointed out that the stock of properties listed for sale on the MyHome website in the first quarter fell to a fresh low of 21,650, down 6% on the year. ‘Despite popular opinion, the immediate impact of the Central Bank lending rules was to make it easier to buy as sellers anticipated the slowdown in Dublin house prices and decided to bring their properties to the market in 2015,’ said MacCoille. ‘This won’t be repeated this year while housing supply in the capital is likely to pick up less sharply through the summer months. This is because the ambitious goals set under the last government’s Construction 2020 strategy are unlikely to be attained with no stable coalition yet formed for the new Dail. Overall, home building levels look set to remain depressed for some time and while this will support Irish house prices, it will hurt activity levels,’ he added. The report’s analysis of the Property Price Register indicates that Dublin and the commuter belt counties last year accounted for 75% of transactions that exceeded €220,000, the threshold below which lenders require a 10% deposit. Of the 48, 374 residential property market transactions recorded in 2015, just 35% or 16,893 exceeded €220,000. Of these Dublin accounted for 60% or 9,987. Put another way 59% of Dublin transactions exceeded the €220,000 threshold, whereas outside of the commuter counties just 17% of transactions, or 4,300, exceeded that mark. ‘The Central Bank mortgage lending rules have prevented households from reacting to the lack of housing supply by taking on ever more highly leveraged loans and bidding up house prices further. However our analysis shows this has been mainly a Dublin/commuter belt phenomenon where the lack of housing supply is most severe and affordability… Continue reading
UK landlords should be prepared to offer longer tenancies, says inventory organisation
UK landlords and property managers should consider offering long term tenancies as there is increasing demand but it means a different approach, according to the Association of Independent Inventory Clerks (AIIC). The organisation said that heightened preparation must include thorough administration and more thought about the choice of furniture and interior design themes. The AIIC points out that in the recently released English Housing Survey 2014/2015 showed that the average private tenancy length is now four years, up from three and a half years in the previous survey. It also found that some 46% of 25 to 34 year olds lived in the private rented sector in 2014/2015, up from 24% in 2004/2005. ‘Despite numerous reports suggesting that the average tenant doesn't want a long term contract, the official statistics show that average tenancy lengths are increasing, particularly among families, as people rent for longer,’ said Patricia Barber, chair of the AIIC. The organisation explained that these figures should encourage landlords to think harder about what will make their rental property feel more like a home and what can be done to facilitate renters staying in their property for longer. Barber also pointed out that the phenomenon of long term renting highlights how important it is for landlords to be organised and make sure they're on top of their administration duties. ‘When tenants stick around for longer, often the chances of confusion and disagreement over certain issues are increased when the tenancy does eventually come to an end,’ she said. ‘The longer time goes on, the more likely landlords and tenants are to forget details from the tenancy agreement or important information about the deposit, and that's why stringent administration, including keeping copies of everything and organising it accordingly, is so important,’ she added. The AIIC also highlighted that landlords should be aware of the need for evidence and records, especially for long term tenancies, and this again demonstrates the value of a thorough and professionally prepared inventory carried out at the start of the rental. ‘There are more grey areas over the condition of a property the longer a tenancy goes on. A detailed inventory will help landlords 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 explained. Should a dispute arise at the end of a tenancy, the AIIC maintains that a detailed inventory, which has been signed and agreed by the tenant, is the most important piece of evidence available to a landlord or letting agent. Continue reading
UK prime country house market affected by stamp duty change in first quarter of 2016
Prime country house prices in the UK increased by 0.3% on average in the first quarter of 2016, taking annual growth to 2.4%, down from a high of 5.2% in 2014. The easing of price growth since 2014 reflects a greater sensitivity to pricing from buyers in the prime market following successive increases in stamp duty that culminated in the changes introduced in December 2014. The details from the latest prime country house index from Knight Frank also shows that homes under £1 million have outperformed other sectors, rising by over 4% annually. Sales volumes in the first three months of 2016 were up by nearly a quarter year on year and Knight Frank forecasts price growth of 3% across the prime country market in 2016. This first quarter of the year has probably been affected by the announcement in November 2015 that buy to let investors and those purchasing second homes would be subject to an extra 3% on the rate of stamp duty from April 2016, the index report explains. It says that the November announcement has acted as a catalyst for some buyers looking to forestall a higher tax bill. This contributed to a notable rise in activity in the first three months of 2016, with Knight Frank figures showing a 24% rise in sales volumes across the prime country market compared to the corresponding period of 2015. During this time, activity has primarily been concentrated on the sub-£1 million market, boosted further by a growing economy and continued low interest and mortgage rates. As a result this sector experienced the strongest price growth. In contrast, homes worth £5 million or more saw values fall by 2.7% over the same period, with the higher transactional costs increasingly factored into pricing. With Knight Frank forecasting price growth of 3% on average this year, the report also says that key town and city locations are likely to outperform, as the trend for urban living continues to grow and more Londoners make the move out of the capital. In the short term, however, uncertainty surrounding the outcome of the European Union referendum could have an impact on the market, causing some buyers to adopt a wait and see approach until after the vote, the report concludes. Continue reading
