Tag Archives: house
Buyers pay premium of 21% to live within a UK National Park
The price premium for properties within a National Park in the UK has increased from 18% to 21%, new research shows. And the premium for a property within five kilometres of a National Park is 8%, according to the research by the Nationwide Building Society. Around 190,000 households are located within the boundaries of National Parks, and the research suggests that this factor alone attracts a significant price premium. Indeed, a property located within a National Park attracts a 21% price premium over an otherwise identical property. This is around £39,000 in cash terms based on the current average house price of £188,810 and the data also shows that the price premium for being within a National Park has increased slightly from 18% a year ago, when the research was last conducted. Moreover, the premium is not limited entirely to properties located within the boundaries of the National Park. There is also evidence of a ‘fringe benefit’ for properties located just outside the boundaries of National Parks. ‘National Parks are highly desirable areas in which to live thanks to the beautiful countryside. Development is also strictly controlled, with very little in the way of new housing construction, which also helps to explain why prices are relatively high,’ said Robert Gardner, Nationwide's chief economist. The South Downs has overtaken the New Forest as most expensive National Park to buy property within and this is due to stronger price growth over the last year. It is England’s newest National Park, spanning 1,624 square kilometres across Hampshire and Sussex and contains the highest number of households at around 47,000. It includes a number of towns situated in the western Weald, including Petersfield, Liss, Midhurst and Petworth. The Peak District serves the highest number of people, with around 5.9 million living within 25 kilometres of its boundary. Its central location makes it accessible from major population centres such as Derby, Sheffield and Manchester. It is also a desirable place to live and average prices within the park have increased by 11% over the past year. The Cairngorms in Scotland is the largest National Park by land area, but is located within a very sparsely populated part of Scotland. Loch Lomond and the Trossachs are closest to major cities such as Glasgow and Edinburgh, with 1.1 million people within 25 kilometres. National Parks cover 20% of the land area in Wales, the highest proportion of the home nations. The largest of these is Snowdonia, covering 2,176 square kilometres. Snowdonia remains the least expensive National Park to live within, although did see the strongest growth over the last year. Continue reading
Number of Scottish households facing higher moving costs set to rise
More households in Scotland could potentially see the upfront cost of moving rise when the new Land and Building Transaction Tax rates come into force in April 2015, a new analysis suggests. In October, during the draft Scottish Budget, John Swinney, the finance secretary, announced that from April next year Scotland would be scrapping the current stamp duty system and replacing it with a LBTT. At the time the Scottish government said that up to 90% of home buyers would be better off under the new regime but this was before Chancellor George Osborne announced stamp duty reforms last week. Following the LBTT announcement real estate firm Knight Frank looked at the numbers and found that, based on the rates announced and compared to the stamp duty system that was in place across the UK at that time, the new LBTT would favour buyers of properties at £325,000 or less, where less tax would be payable. Sales above £325,000 would incur a higher rate of tax. However, the firm has now re-done the calculations based on the stamp duty changes which will apply in Scotland until the change and the point at which it now becomes more expensive to buy a property under the new LBTT system has fallen from £325,000 to £254,000. Knight Frank says that this means that a lot more households could potentially see the upfront cost of moving rise when the LBTT rates come into force in April. According to figures from the Registers of Scotland, the average price of a detached property is higher than £254,000 in nearly a third of all the local authorities in the country. Under the current system, a house costing £390,000 will incur a stamp duty payment of £9,500, whereas the upfront costs under the new LBTT system for the same property will be 72% higher at £16,300. ‘Prior to the introduction of the new levy in four months’ time, we expect to see an increase in the number of prime sales and homes coming to the market as both buyers and vendors look to move before costs rise,’ said Oliver Knight. ‘Homes worth £250,000 plus accounted for 72% of the total £215 million stamp duty take in Scotland last year. The new regime could hit receipts at this end of the market if there is a slowdown in transactions, and perhaps raise questions among policy makers about the rate structure,’ he added. Continue reading
London prime property rent rises set to outpace house growth in 2015
London prime property prices are expected to grow by 3% to 5% in 2015 but strong tenant demand is expected to boost rental prices by 10% over the next year, the latest forecast suggests. Uncertainty over the outcome of the general election is likely to boost the corporate lettings sector in particular and London property prices will ease into a slower rate of growth, according to estate agent Marsh & Parsons. They expect prime London house prices to rise up to 5% in 2015, compared to the 11.4% increase witnessed over the past 12 months. Annual growth is forecast to be strongest in outer prime London where typical house prices are 25% lower than across prime London as a whole, fuelling higher demand. But in the most expensive prime central areas of the capital, prices will climb by 3%. Marsh & Parsons expects the feel good factor to remain into 2015 for sellers and with mortgage rates as competitive as ever, it is also continues to represent a good opportunity for buyers too. ‘The London housing market gave a stellar performance in the first half of 2014, but there won’t be quite the same encore next year. However, the curtain certainly isn’t going down on price growth. After touching the brakes in recent months, property values will continue to climb steadily again in 2015, albeit at a more modest and orderly pace,’ said Peter Rollings, chief executive officer of Marsh & Parsons. ‘Demand for prime London property remains stable, and after adapting to the mortgage market reform (MMR) changes and tighter affordability measures introduced this year, buyers are more motivated than ever, maintaining sales momentum and ensuring that property prices will not stand idle,’ he explained. ‘The general election will act to stimulate the market, removing much uncertainty and drawing a line under any hesitation from buyers and sellers, but this isn’t to say that the first five months of the year will be a write off as London won’t stop working,’ he added. Marsh & Parsons expects more vigorous growth in prime London rents, forecasting increases of 10% throughout 2015. The firm points out that following a period of largely stagnant rental prices, rents in prime London have climbed steadily during 2014, and the pace of growth will pick up over the next 12 months. Corporate tenancies have grown 14% in 2014 compared to the same period in 2013, and burgeoning demand for corporate lettings and relocations will ensure continued expansion of this sector next year. ‘The rental market will be where much of the action takes place in 2015. Those relocating to the capital for work are now biding their time before purchasing their own portion of London property, until question marks surrounding additional property taxes are erased,’ said Rollings. ‘This will push demand in the corporate lettings sector even further, and the biggest rental increases are predicted to be among one or… Continue reading
