Tag Archives: house
House prices in England and Wales see biggest monthly boost for 12 months
Average house prices in England and Wales increased by almost £2,000 in august, the biggest monthly boost for a year, the latest index data to be published shows. They increased by £1,900 or 0.7% compared with July which takes the average prices of a home to its eighth peak this year at £282,816, according to the LSL index. Year on year average prices rose 4.1%, the data also shows and East Anglia has seen the highest regional rise due to a shortage of properties coming onto the market. However, sales are down, recording a monthly drop of 14% in August and are now behind 2013 levels. The north of England recorded the strongest sales activity with transactions up 3% year on year. Richard Sexton, director of e.surv chartered surveyors, pointed out that so far in 2015, monthly price rises have struggled to break above the 0.5%, so this latest rise marks a step up in pace. He believes that a shortfall of summer sellers puts buyers in hot contention for properties. He also pointed out that compared to last year, average property prices have climbed £11,225 and all 10 regions of England and Wales are showing annual increases in house prices. Indeed, the last region to experience a year on year fall in property values was Wales in July 2013. He is not too worried about the dip in sales.'Home sales across England and Wales reached 76,700 in August, down 14% on July levels. This should be taken with a pinch a salt as July was an exceptionally strong month for transactions, and activity in August can be seen as balancing this out,' said Sexton. 'But August is also the first time in 2015 to date that property sales have fallen below their equivalent month in 2013. In the three months to July 2015, property sales have dropped 3% year on year. Across all of England and Wales, the North is the only region where activity has increased over the period, with home sales up 3% during May to July 2015 compared to the same three months in 2014,' he explained. The largest fall in activity has been in East Anglia, with total property sales down 9%, and sales of flats 15% lower year on year from May to July. At the same time, this region has experienced the highest house price growth of any region, at 5.9% in July 2015. 'This suggests it’s not demand that is the problem, but supply. The lack of properties coming onto the market here is intensifying competition and heating up price rises, above temperatures we’re seeing elsewhere, said Sexton. 'The nationwide mismatch between sellers putting homes up for sale and buyer demand should warm up measures of growth for the autumn. August represented the twelfth month in succession that the annual rate of growth declined, down steadily from 11.1% in August 2014, to 4.1% last… Continue reading
Home prices and sales up in Scotland after property tax blip
House prices in Scotland increased by 2.6% in June, taking the average price to £169,227, according to the latest index figures, with sales up 25% month on month. It means that year on year prices have increased by 1.2% over a period that have seen a number of changes in the property market including the introduction of the new Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) tax earlier this year in April. There was a flurry of sales at the upper end of the market before the tax was introduced and a dearth of sales in this sector afterwards but the Your Move index shows that June’s price growth was driven by a revival in million pound plus sales. The data also shows that home sales surged 25% in June compared with May, reaching the highest monthly total since July 2014. Glasgow saw the strongest jump in sales activity in the second quarter, up 18% in the past year on back of increased demand for flats. ‘The calm annual house price change of 1.2% recorded in June 2015 belies tumultuous currents of activity beneath the surface. The Scottish housing market has been buffeted around by taxation,’ said Christine Campbell, Your Move managing director in Scotland. She pointed out that on average in 2014, there were 12 £1million plus properties sold in Scotland during a month, but in June 2015 there were six, signalling an improvement in this sector of the market in just one month. On the mainland the biggest monthly rises were recorded by the two most expensive local authorities across Scotland with properties in East Renfrewshire and East Dunbartonshire experiencing price jumps of 26% and 21% respectively in June. ‘More generally, the LBTT front loaded sales into the start of the year, and activity dragged its heels throughout April and May, with the general election adding to the dampening effect,’ added Campbell. In Aberdeen, for example, sales of detached homes fell 39% between March and April. But June saw a 25% month on month leap in home sales, higher than what would typically be expected for this time of year, and 5% up on June 2014. Overall, Scotland saw 9,265 home sales during the month, the most activity since July 2014 and during the second quarter of 2015 flats have seen the most significant year on year increase in sales, up 7%. ‘This stems from the stamina of the first time buyer market, as this property type tends to be the most affordable for those getting their first footing on the property ladder. This is especially the case in cities, and Glasgow and Edinburgh accounted for 45% of all Scottish flat sales during the second quarter of 2015,’ said Campbell. ‘But affordability is the biggest steer to Scottish housing market at the moment. At £200,000, the average price of a flat in Edinburgh is more than one and half times as much as the cost of the… Continue reading
UK residential property prices forecast for steady growth in next five years
House prices in the UK are expected to continue growing, with steady rises over the next five years across the country, the latest five year forecast shows. Cumulative growth in UK prices will total a little over 18% in the five years to the end of 2019, according to the latest forecast report from real estate firm Knight Frank. It says that while political risk for the prime London property market has fallen, affordability constraints will limit price growth in the near term, and predicts that overall UK rents and prime central London rents will rise 2.2% and 3.5% respectively in 2015. However, the risk that UK interest rates rise more rapidly than expected or that the global economy suffers a notable slowdown in activity remain the biggest risks to the UK housing market. It explains that the cumulative impact of recent and future reforms to Stamp Duty, mortgage interest relief for investors, Capital Gains Tax and IHT will take some time to work through the UK housing market. ‘Despite the pace of tax change, our view remains that it is interest rates and economic performance which will shape the outlook for prices and demand,’ the report adds. In the UK as a whole the forecast predicts house price growth of 3.5% for 2015, 2.5% next year, 3% in 2017, 4% in both 4.0% 2018 and 2019, to a cumulative 18.2% over five years. It also shows that while London saw growth of 17.8% in 2014 this is unlikely to be repeated with growth of 3.5%, 4%, 5%, 5.5% and 5.5% predicted. There is a similar pattern for the South East which saw growth of 10.6% last year, with the current forecast for 5% this year, 3% in 2016, 3.5% in 2017 and 5% for the two following years. The South West had growth of 8% in 2014 but this will fall to 4% this year, then 2.5%, 3%, 4.5% and the 4%. The prediction for East Anglia is 4.5% in 2015, followed by 3%, 3.5%, 4.5% and 5%, in the East Midlands the forecast is for 3.5%, 2%, 2.5% and then 4% in both 2018 and 2019 while in the West Midlands it is 3.5%, 2%, 2.5%, 4% and 4%. For the North East the forecast is even at 3% this year followed by 2% in 2016 and 2017, then 3% in 2018 and 3.5% in 2019. In the North West it is 3%, 1.5%, 2%, 3.5% and 3.5% while in Yorkshire and the Humber the forecast is for growth of 3% this year, 2% in both 2016 and 2017 then 3.5% in both 2018 and 2019. Wales saw annual price growth of just 1.4% in 2014 but this is expected to rise to 3% this year followed by 2% in 2016, 2.5% in 2017 and then 4% in both 2018 and 2019. Scotland is forecast to have growth of 3.5% this year, 2.5% in 2016, 3% in 2017 and then 4% in both… Continue reading
