Tag Archives: industry
Bridging lending makes positive start to 2016 in UK
Gross annual bridging lending in the UK increased to £3.6 billion in February, up from £3.5 billion at the end of 2015 according to the latest sector index to be published. However, this expansion represents a modest 3% lift in gross annual lending since December, showing that growth has stabilised somewhat from the previous year, according to the West One Bridging index. The index report suggests that growth in short term finance has been driven by a number of factors including an uplift in demand for bridge to let loans in advance of April’s Stamp Duty surcharge. It points out that with property transactions rising 16.1% year on year in February, there has been a surge in demand for bridging finance in order to unblock property chains and raise additional finance. The sale of residential properties at auction also hit a record high in February, rising more than 25% compared to the same month last year. Bridging loans are usually the best option for buyers requiring additional finance for auction purchases because traditional forms of borrowing typically won’t be approved by lenders in time to complete on the sale. This continued growth in auction sales has provided a significant boost to bridging lending in the first two months of the year, the report explains. However, total bridging lending growth was tempered by a month on month flattening of construction output in February which was down by 0.3% alongside a slight 2% contraction of the commercial property market. With smaller developers using short term finance to aid in the completion of projects and specialist finance providers helping fill the post-recession gap in commercial lending, the dip in these markets has had some influence on growth in the short term finance sector. However these markets should improve following the reduction in Stamp Duty announced in March’s budget. ‘A 3% rise in lending may seem moderate, but that’s relative to some significant recent sector expansion. Moreover, we’ve seen healthy growth continuing in the weeks since February. A major contributor is professionals using bridging as part of their strategy to buy residential properties in need of renovation, improve them and re-sell at a healthy profit,’ said Stephen Wasserman, managing director of West One Loans. ‘In this case, the flexibility of bridging finance is well suited to financing such activity. With this group often buying at auction, our experience fits with the surge in auction buying noted. Moreover, we anticipate further growth from this group, favoured by the underlying lack of supply of new homes’ he pointed out. ‘Recently released DCLG figures showed that housing stock growth of 0.73% lagged population growth. That means renovating undesirable properties will continue to be a profitable and attractive business, from which bridging will benefit. DCLG data also showed a greater rise in private rented housing over owner occupied. We’ve also observed strong growth in bridging to acquire properties,… Continue reading
Chartered surveyors in Ireland hit out at high additional costs for new homes
The Irish government needs to address a trend in the country’s housing market which means that actual construction costs for new homes are less than half of the total price paid by buyers. A new report from the Society of Chartered Surveyors has found that the cost of building a three bedroom semi-detached house in the Greater Dublin area, for example, is over €330,000. But the actual cost of building the house, known as hard costs, came to €150,000, which at 45% is less than half of the overall cost of providing that house. This was broken down as land and acquisition costs of €57,500 or 17%, VAT of €39,000 or 12% and a margin of €38,000 or 11% as the main elements of the soft costs which total €180,000. Micheal Mahon of the SCSI said it may come as a surprise to those outside the industry to see that the actual construction costs or hard costs made up less than half of the total costs. He said this was an issue which required urgent and focused attention from Government. ‘The country is experiencing a chronic housing shortage which is contributing significantly to the current homelessness crisis. The findings of this report highlight a number of pressing issues, particularly on the soft cost side. We need to kick start housing supply as soon as possible and to accelerate from the current output of 12,000 units per annum to the 25,000 units which is required,’ he pointed out. The report is based on a detailed study of eight house building projects with a minimum of 30 units in the Greater Dublin area where chartered quantity surveyors were employed as independent cost consultants. It shows that the cost of building a new house in Dublin is now €45,000 more than the median asking price of a three bed semi-detached house in the city according to a recent MyHome.ie/Davy property report. The study found that the cost of building the house from foundations to roof and completing the estate roads and drains etc is €150,000. In addition to the soft costs listed above there were levies of €12,000 or 4%, some €5,500 or 2% for professional fees and sales and marketing costs of €8,000 or 3% to bring total soft costs to €180,000. The report provides an analysis of a number of cost reduction options. Mahon said it is up to policy makers to decide which measures to implement to support the early delivery of supply. ‘Whether they opt to reduce VAT to 9% or to zero as is the situation in Northern Ireland or to reduce finance costs to 5% or to reduce levies to €1,500 or to increase the supply of land, prompt and decisive action is needed. They may well opt for a combination of these measures. However the focus should… Continue reading
Lenders in UK praised for work on responsible lending requirements
Lenders in the UK positively applied the responsible lending requirements which came into force as part of the Mortgage Market Review (MMR) introduced in April 2014, a new report concludes. But there is scope for improving consumers’ ability to make better choices about mortgage deals according to the Responsible Lending Review published by the UK’s financial watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). It also says that some firms need to make process improvements to help them consistently assess and record their lending decisions and some could be more proactive and consistent in making use of flexibilities and exceptions to the responsible lending requirements for existing customers. The research found no evidence that the rules have prevented firms lending responsibly to consumer groups such as older borrowers and the self-employed. However it points out that with older consumers representing an increasing proportion of the UK population it is important that the mortgage market continues to develop a range of products that can meet their needs. Potential issues relating to lending to older borrowers will be included in wider work on the ageing population being undertaken by the FCA. The review looked at the challenges that consumers face in making effective choices, particularly when it comes to assessing and acting on information about mortgage products, with intermediaries being key to the process. It also examined if there are opportunities to make more effective use of technology in the provision of information and advice and commercial relationships between different players in the sector’s supply chain, in particular the use of panels, that might give rise to competition concerns. The FCA will carry out further work where there is greatest scope for competition to improve consumer outcomes. In particular, it will launch a targeted market study in the fourth quarter of 2016 focused on consumers’ ability to make effective choices, with a view to improving how competition works in consumers’ best interests. This study will try to determine if the available tools for helping consumers make choices, such as price comparison websites, best-buy tables, and advice, effectively meet their needs. ‘For millions of consumers a mortgage is one of the biggest financial transactions they will enter into in their lifetime so it’s encouraging to see firms embrace the spirit and the letter of our rules,’ said Christopher Woolard, director of strategy and competition at the FCA. ‘At the same time, there appears to be more to be done to improve competition in the mortgage sector. Competition can play a key role in ensuring that the sector works well, delivering lower prices, better products and choice, and more innovation,’ he explained. ‘Based on the evidence we’ve collected so far, we intend to launch a forward looking market study later on this year, with particular focus on the roles played by intermediaries and panels,’ he added. The Council of Mortgage Lenders welcomed the review and pointed out that members are already working on certain areas such as improving consumers' ability… Continue reading
