Tag Archives: investment
Buy to let stamp duty rush sees increase in supply of rental properties in UK
There was an increase in the number of new rental properties in the UK following the rush by buy to let landlords to beat the introduction of additional stamp duty tax on homes in April. New research has found that Worcester saw new rental listings shoot up by almost a half with a rise of 48.9% in April while there was a rise of 38% in Chelmsford and 36.4% in Stevenage. Overall there was a national rise of 11.5% but in London it was just 9.1%, according to the study which looked at the number of new rental properties being advertised last month compared to March in 90 towns and cities from property crowdfunding platform Property Partner. Other locations that saw significant increases included Southport, Telford, Bath, Newport, Woking, Gloucester, Milton Keynes, Oxford, Oldham and St Helens with rise of between 34.4% and 22.5%. ‘The rental market experienced a much-needed boost in April. Unfortunately, this was created by investor frenzy to beat the stamp duty hike, and supply is unlikely to continue on an upward trajectory,’ said Dan Gandesha, chief executive officer of Property Partner. ‘If anything, options for tenants could become more limited in the next couple of months as traditional landlords balk at the prospect of paying the surcharge now, and losing mortgage interest tax relief from next year,’ he pointed out. ‘There is still strong tenant demand, but the Government has changed the traditional buy to let landscape, and this will have ramifications for the rental market longer term. That demand will increasingly have to be met by professional landlords offering tenants a better product, and investors a better deal,’ he added. Continue reading
New research identifies property hotspots in Australia
The Australian housing market currently has 602 property hot spots spread out across the country’s eight states, according to a new report. All areas apart from Tasmania and South Australia appear at least once in the national Housing Report from the Housing Industry Association (HIA) with six top 20 in Victoria, five in Western Australia, four in New South Wales, two in Queensland and ACT and one in the Northern Territory. Nationally, a hotspot is defined as a local area where population growth exceeds the national average and where the value of residential building work approved is in excess of $100 million. The final ranking of the hotspots is determined by their respective population growth rates. ‘A total of more than 220,000 new dwellings were commenced last year, so it’s no surprise there was a strong performance among housing hotspots across Australia,’ said HIA economist Diwa Hopkins. Based on its performance during 2014/2015, ACT’s South West area was the country’s top hotspot yet again, with $216.5 million worth of new residential building approved and its population more than doubling. In second place was Cranbourne East in Melbourne’s southeast, where the population increased by 32% and some $328.7 million worth of new residential building was approved and in third place was Cobbitty-Leppington in the southwest of Sydney. This year’s hotspots report again identifies a set of areas where momentum remains very strong according to latest data. These areas are likely to perform well in next year’s rankings if the pattern of this year is anything to go by. ‘In the final analysis, the fact that 10 of the top 20 hotspots are located in New South Wales and Victoria speaks volumes. These two states have been the engines of the strong upturn in new home building over the last few years,’ Hopkins explained. ‘It is also encouraging to see Western Australia still perform strongly this time at the national level, considering the difficulties arising from the natural resources downturn,’ she added. Continue reading
UK home buyers most concerned about prices and mortgages
Financial worries dominate the thinking of today's generation of prospective home buyers in the UK with prices and getting a mortgage the biggest concerns, new research shows. The survey from the Home Builders Federation (HBF) also highlights the change in attitudes to home buying between young and old, showing that whilst 84% of 18 to 34 years olds still want to own their own home, there are huge financial obstacles to realising their dreams. Indeed, some 73% cited the difficulty of saving for a deposit, for 69% it is property prices and 53% the difficulty of getting a mortgage. The survey also found that one in four 18 to 34 year olds are totally unaware of any government support available to them, such as the 5% deposit Help to Buy equity loan scheme or the Help to Buy ISA aimed at helping young people save for a deposit. And overall younger people today are more concerned than their elders about the running costs of homes with 67% of 18 to 24 year olds taking this into account when considering whether to buy compared to 40% of 35 to 44 year olds. Younger people are also much more likely to consider buying a new build, which are up to 50% cheaper to run than some second hand homes with 55% saying it is likely they would consider buying a new build compared to just 23% of over 45s. It also identifies the huge amounts of money second hand home buyers spend on their properties with 47% of people spending over £10,000, and more than half incurring the expenditure associated with replacing bathrooms or kitchens. Some 13% of people spent over £40,000 upgrading their home and the HBF estimates it costs around £45,000 to upgrade a second hand home to the standard of a new build. The HBF also believes that there are a number of misconceptions about new build homes. With 34% of people polled saying they have never visited a new build or a show home and a further 18% saying they hadn't for at least 10 years, it points out that the industry faces a huge challenge engaging with the public to explain the many benefits of today's modern, high quality new build homes. Some 84% of 18 to 34 year olds that don't already own their own home aspire to do so and when buying a new home, the most important factors house hunters consider are price and location, both cited by 80%. However a greater proportion of younger house hunters, some 67% of 18 to 24 year olds, take into consideration the running costs of a property, compared to 55% across all age groups. The main obstacles for first time buyers trying to get on to the property ladder are saving for a deposit at 73%, property prices at 69% and getting a mortgage at 53%. Similarly, the main put-offs to buying a home for everyone is the deposit for 72%… Continue reading
