Tag Archives: house
UK property market boosted by buy to let rush in march, official figures show
UK house prices increased by 9% in the year to March 2016, up from 7.6% in the year to February 2016, according to the latest official figures. House price annual inflation was 10.1% in England, 2.1% in Wales, 6.4% in Northern Ireland but fell by 6.1% in Scotland, taking the average price to £292,000, the data from the Office of National Statistics shows. Annual house price increases in England were driven by growth in London of 13%, followed by 12.2% in the South East and 12.1% in the East of England. However, excluding London and the South East, UK house prices increased by 5.9% in the 12 months to March 2016. The data also shows that on a seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices increased by 2.5% between February 2016 and March 2016 and prices paid by first time buyers were 9.7% higher on average than in March 2015. For owner-occupiers prices increased by 8.7% for the same period. This is the final release of the ONS House Price Index (HPI) which will be replaced by the new UK House Price Index from June 2016. Richard Snook, senior economist at PwC, explained that buy to let investors rushing to complete purchases before the 3% stamp duty charge on additional properties came into effect at the beginning of April has affected the figures. ‘This move undoubtedly drove up demand and prices in March and we would expect demand to soften over the next few months as a result. There are no signs of any Brexit related slowdown in this month’s figures, although the underlying trends are masked by the effects of the stamp duty change,’ he said. According to Rob Weaver, director of Investments at property crowdfunding platform Property Partner, the figures also show that the divide between north and south is widening while in London and the south east first time buyers are finding it harder to get on the housing ladder. ‘But with niggling doubts over the imminent EU referendum, we’re likely to see a short term dip in prices until the end of June. Then the fundamentals of strong demand and scant supply, rock bottom interest rates and healthy jobs market should reassert themselves,’ he added. Randeesh Sandhu, chief executive officer of Urban Exposure, the residential development finance provider, also believes that activity is likely to slow down in the coming months following these changes and also in the run up the EU referendum with consumers remaining cautious against the backdrop of a potential Brexit. ‘However, it is clear that demand for housing remains strong and any impact of a Brexit is likely to be a short term trend with activity returning to normal soon after any decision. Therefore a real focus needs to be given to the housing shortages the UK faces,’ he said. ‘In London, the new Mayor, Sadiq Khan, has the opportunity to inject some fresh policies to the London housing market where house prices are particularly steep. However, Sadiq’s plan… Continue reading
Edinburgh property market seeing strong demand and steady price growth
The residential property market in Edinburgh is experiencing high demand, especially at the middle to high end of the market, new reports show. The long term picture is one of steady growth. A comparison of property prices by agents Strutt & Parker shows that in March 2015, the month leading up to the introduction of the new Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT), and March 2016 reveals a 26% fall in average value. In March 2015 prices averaged £320,466 but in March 2016 this was down to £237,226, much of which has been put down to the distortion caused in the market by LBTT last year. However, the average value in March 2016 is significantly up on the average price in March 2014 which was £209, 624 and March 2013 when it was £200,744, indicating a steady upward trajectory in property prices. ‘The drop in average value simply serves to underline the huge spike in sales before the introduction of LBTT in April last year and it highlights the importance of experience when interpreting housing market trends,’ said Blair Stewart, head of Edinburgh City Residential Sales at Strutt & Parker. ‘It is not surprising that the 2016 average property price is less in comparison. It is more important to look back over the last three years during which time, taking 2015 out of the equation, we can see a steady rise in the city's average property price,’ he pointed out. In March, there were 247 sales in Edinburgh of which 225 were £300,000 to £750,000, 13 in the £750,000 to £1 million range and nine at over £1 million, up from 159 in February and 146 in January but down from 363 in March 2015, again underlining the surge in sales before the introduction of LBTT. ‘The high volumes and associated lower values in Edinburgh are partly reflective of a surge in the purchases of investment properties before the LBTT surcharge was introduced at the start of April. In general, additional and investment properties are lower in value, which is illustrated by both the jump in transactions and drop in average value,’ Stewart explained. ‘Correspondingly, we have noticed an adjustment in the average sale prices of the properties we are selling in Edinburgh change from around £780,000 in 2015 to approximately £600,000 in 2016. However, these figures also show a strong performance in the market in the first months of 2016 and I am confident we will see that continue into the summer,’ he added. He also pointed out that behavioural changes following two tax regime changes in a year are still playing out so a true picture of the market will become clearer over the next six months once there can be an analysis of figures which have not been distorted by either LBTT or the additional 3% surcharge on additional homes introduced this April. Agents CKD Galbraith is also reporting that demand for middle to high end residential property in Edinburgh city… Continue reading
Rents in the UK continue to trend upwards, latest rental index shows
Residential rents increased in all but one region of the UK over three months to April taking the average rent, excluding Greater London, to £764 per month, the latest index data shows. It means that the average rent in the UK outside of Greater London us now 5.1% higher than a year ago while the average rent in London is now £1,543, up 7.7% Scotland and the East Midlands lead the way with fastest rising rents while the North West is the only region to register declines in rent, according to the HomeLet rental index for April. The index report says that fears that higher stamp duty charges on buy to let rental property purchases might destabilise the market have so far proved unfounded. Indeed, HomeLet’s figures show that rents agreed on new tenancies across the UK over the three months to the end of April have continued to grow at remarkably consistent rate. The index also shows that rents on new tenancies signed over the three months to April 2016 were, on average, 5.1% higher than in the same period of last year. That was barely changed from March’s figure of 4.9%, with rent rises having remained in a very narrow band since the beginning of the year. However, in London rents on new tenancies signed over the three months to the end of April were 7.7% higher than a year ago, the third successive month that London has registered this rate of increase. The latest figures show that rents in Scotland are currently rising faster than anywhere else in the UK, with new tenancies costing 11.4% more than in the same period a year ago while the East Midlands saw a rise of 7.9% in rents compared to last year. London’s rental market, where the average rent on a new tenancy is now £1,543, also continues to see rents rise more quickly than in most other areas of the country. The 2.6% gap between rent rises on new tenancies in London and the rest of the UK, where rents average £764, is barely changed on the previous. Just one area of the country, the North West of England, saw lower rents on new tenancies over the three months to March, as was the case in the previous month’s index. However, the speed at which rents are falling in the region continues to slow, to an annual rate of just 1% over the three months to April, compared to 3.5% over the three months to March. Rents agreed on new tenancies in April alone were 1.7% higher than in March. ‘It may be that over the next several months, the trends observed in the rental market begin to reflect the signs of some slowdown in the rate of house price growth that we are now beginning to see and that will be something to watch closely,’ said Martin Totty, chief executive officer of HomeLet… Continue reading
