Tag Archives: homes
Almost two thirds of tenants think they will never be able to buy a home
Nearly two thirds of tenants in private rental accommodation in the UK believe they will never be able to buy a home of their own, according to new research. Just 35% of tenants think they will be able to get on the property ladder, says the survey results from online letting agents Property Let By Us. It says that rising rents and soaring house prices have made property ownership a distant dream for many tenants. The number of people living in private rented accommodation has risen from 2.2 million in 2002/2003 to nearly 3.9 million last year. The number of people renting from private landlords now outstrips those in council and housing association homes for the first time. Half of those renting privately are under the age of 34, with private rentals outstripping social housing for the first time, according to data from the Department for Communities and Local Government. Home ownership has fallen to its lowest level for a quarter of a century and the number of people renting has almost doubled. More than a third of England's 14.3 million home owners are now aged 65 and over as young people have been frozen off the property ladder. Just 1.4 million home owners are aged between 25 and 34, the age group most likely to be raising families, while 96,000 are aged between 16 and 24. ‘Recent figures show that house prices leaped by another £18,000 in the year to August, hitting yet another record high of £189,306 on average,’ said Jane Morris, managing director of Property Let By Us. ‘This is more bad news for would be home buyers. The reality is that home ownership is changing in the UK and over the next 10 years, we are going to see increasing numbers of people renting rather than buying. Rising rents have meant that many tenants, particularly young people have been unable to save a deposit and the recent mortgage changes have made it even harder to secure funding,’ she explained. She pointed out that the growing demand for rental accommodation is good news for landlords. But as the market continues to expand, it evitable that this will bring greater Government scrutiny to the sector. Legislative changes like immigration will put more and more responsibility on landlords and tighter controls will have to be introduced to ensure basic standards of accommodation are maintained and any deviance is punished effectively,’ said Morris. ‘Professional and law abiding landlords will benefit hugely from this expanding market with rising asset values, increased tenant demand and good, stable rental income,’ she added. Continue reading
Average House prices in England and Wales up 8.4% year on year
Average house price in England and Wales increased 1% in August to reach £177,824, according to the latest index from the Land Registry. The data also shows that prices have increased by 8.4% year on year and are now not far from the peak of £181,383 in November 2007. Overall over 82,600 residential properties in England and Wales lodged for registration in August ranging from £13,000 to £24.5 million. The biggest price increase was in London with a year on year rise of 21.6% and London also experienced the greatest monthly rise with growth of 2.7% in August. The North East saw the lowest annual price growth with a rise of 3% and both the South West and the North West saw the most significant monthly price fall of 0.1%. The most up to date figures available show that during June 2014 the number of completed house sales in England and Wales increased by 11% to 73,158 compared with 66,123 in June 2013. The number of properties sold in England and Wales for over £1 million in June 2014 increased by 34% to 1,135 from 848 in June 2013. Jonathan Hudson of West End estate agent Hudsons Property, pointed out that while London is well beyond the average price in 2007, it is interesting to see the rest of the country is almost there too. ‘However, with London and the South East making up the majority of the average prices, it shows some parts of the UK are someway adrift, still more so than this figure suggests,’ he explained. ‘The annual 8.4% increase in August will be from transactions agreed a few months earlier, so it will be interesting to see how these figures match up in a few months’ time, due to a drop in buyers in the last quarter compared to the recent boom years,’ he added. He also pointed out that while some areas in the UK are still struggling with regards to getting close to the average price of 2007, with the economy moving in the right direction, and with stricter lending, hopefully repossessions will decrease further,’ he said. Continue reading
Latest Help Buy figures show over 50,000 have bought new homes in England
Almost 53,000 households have bought a home in England through the government’s flagship Help to Buy scheme, according to the latest figures to be released. The figures show how the scheme is getting more homes built in England, with over 37,600 households buying new build homes through the equity loan and NewBuy options, and a further 15,000 though the mortgage guarantee. A further 3,500 new home owners have also been created in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland through the Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme, said Housing and Planning Minister Brandon Lewis. Almost 80% of sales have gone to first time buyers, with nearly 70% being for new build homes. The direct result is a new generation of homeowners and the sharpest increase in private house building starts for 40 years. Lewis said the figures were further evidence that hard working families were voting with their feet, and Help to Buy was expanding and accelerating the supply of new homes. House building has climbed to the highest level since 2007, the construction sector has grown for 16 consecutive months, and companies are now taking on new workers at the fastest rate since 1997. He pointed out that the government has also expanded the range of available data about Help to Buy. Sales are now broken down by postcode and constituency so communities, builders and businesses can see exactly how the scheme is benefiting their local area. ‘Almost 53,000 households have now benefited through Help to Buy in England. Hard working families are getting the right support to step onto the housing ladder, and house building has climbed to its highest level since 2007,’ said Lewis. ‘Postcode data for each constituency is now available, so local communities can see exactly how this vital part of our long-term economic plan is fixing the broken housing market we inherited in 2010, and supporting their area,’ he added. Overall, sales of new build homes have been strong across the country. The highest number of equity loan sales were in Wiltshire with 557, Leeds with 539 and Central Bedfordshire with 504. Peterborough, Milton Keynes, Bedford, County Durham, Birmingham, Bradford, Manchester, Kingston-upon-Hull, Aylesb Continue reading
