Tag Archives: investments
Property prices in Ireland fall month on month for first time since January
Residential property prices in Ireland fell by 0.1% in June, the first monthly fall since January, but are still 6.6% higher than a year ago, according to the latest official figures to be published. This compares to a 0.2% rise in May with the data showing that price growth has slowed considerably from the 10.7% annual rise recorded in June 2015. The figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) also show that in Dublin property prices decreased by 0.7% in June and were 4.5% higher than a year ago. House prices decreased by 1% but are still 5% higher compared to a year earlier while apartment prices were 0.5% lower when compared with the same month of 2015. However, the CSO points out that it should be noted that the sub-indices for apartments are based on low volumes of observed transactions and consequently suffer from greater volatility than other series. The price of properties in the rest of Ireland increased by 0.5% in June compared with an increase of 0.4% in June of last year and were 8.6% higher than in June 2015. It means that house prices in Dublin are 33.5% lower than at their highest level in early 2007 while apartment prices in Dublin are 41.8% lower than they were in February 2007. Overall property prices in Dublin are 35.6% lower than at their highest level in February 2007. The price of properties in the rest of Ireland is 35.4% lower than their highest level in September 2007 and the national index is 33.3% lower than its highest level in 2007. The CSO will launch a new Residential Property Price Index (RPPI) for Ireland in early September 2016 which will replace the existing monthly RPPI. ‘The new RPPI will be based on Stamp Duty returns made to the Revenue Commissioners matched with other administrative data. It will now cover all market purchases of houses and apartments by households, both cash and mortgage based transactions,’ said a CSO spokesman. ‘The new RPPI represents a significant methodological improvement over the existing RPPI based on mortgage data from the credit institutions as it includes cash purchases, higher quality source data and more detailed locational characteristics in the price model,’ he added. Continue reading
New home planning approvals up in London quarter on quarter
The number of planning application approvals for new homes in London increased by 46% in the second quarter of 2016 compared to the previous quarter, the latest data shows. Some 6,310 new homes were approved out of a possible 8,280 that could have been permitted across the quarter, a 76% approval rate, according to the London New Homes Monitor from estate agents Stirling Ackroyd. However, approvals and decisions fell year on year. The second quarter of last year saw 8,063 new homes, out of a possible 10,662, granted permission but this was down to 6,311 allowed in the second quarter of 2016. ‘London has had a tough time lately, as Brexit injected a dose of uncertainty into the property market. In spite of this, the number of new home approvals improved in the run up to the result,’ said Andrew Bridges, managing director of Stirling Ackroyd. ‘There may still be an impact to come but for now, this pick-up is a sign that London’s property market is resilient. It’s a new game of unknowns and London could emerge a winner,’ he added. The most approvals were in Westminster at 1,720 new homes with 99% of all new home applications received approved, the highest rate in Greater London while Newham recorded the lowest approval rate across London, rejecting 92% of potential new homes applications. ‘Westminster is soaring ahead in terms of approvals and applications, but these are unlikely to be affordable for the typical Londoner. Many in the capital are left feeling let down as affordability drives them further away from a home of their own,’ Bridges pointed out. Bridges believes more needs to be done with research by the firm suggesting that there is space for up to 570,000 new homes in London in the next 10 years and he added that a more efficient planning system would help. ‘Planning reforms are still on the government agenda for now and they need to stay there. Overall, more resources and time need to be committed to achieve the number of new homes London needs. Having a new home can transform lives and London has always been an aspirational city,’ he concluded. Continue reading
Housing and Finance Institute praises UK housing policies
Former British Prime Minister David Cameron and his then Chancellor George Osborne introduced strong housing policies that can achieve their target of a million new homes by 2020, it is claimed. Their housing legacy is the strongest for a generation and more than 750,000 homes were built during their term of office with final figures to be released in the coming months. According to Natalie Elphicke, chief executive of The Housing and Finance Institute, it is wrong to assume that Theresa May has inherited a full blown housing crisis and that not enough homes being built. ‘It is true we have some serious housing challenges, but it is also a fact we have made some extraordinary steps forward since David Cameron and George Osborne took control of the tiller in 2010. For two politicians perceived to be masters of spin and presentation, they failed to sell their ground breaking housing achievements while in government,’ she said. ‘But they really did preside over record breaking house building, a reformed planning policy and a package of reforms that leave our housing industry in a much stronger position than when they took office six years ago. Cameron and Osborne’s is the strongest housing legacy of any government for over 35 years,’ she added. She believes that Osborne put housing at the heart of Britain’s recovery and growth strategy, committing over £38 billion of public money into the sector and says this is a scale of public finance housing support that has not seen since the post war era. ‘Financial commitment has been matched by root and branch reform across all parts of government which impact on housing, planning, public finances, local government finance, local government powers and the government’s entire public land estate,’ she explained. A key part of their programme was giving back control to councils and Elphicke explained that a recovery which worked for everyone needed to devolve power to find local solutions. This included money, direct access to billions of pounds which could be borrowed directly by councils for housing, growth and community building through the Housing Revenue Account settlements and Prudential Borrowing. ‘There has been wholesale reform of planning through the introduction of the National Planning Policy Framework. This is helping councils and housing businesses alike understand what housing is needed and where. Action has been taken on empty homes, on better utilisation of existing social housing stock and on keeping Britain building,’ she pointed out. The HFI has identified the flagship Help to Buy scheme as a key driver to their success. Often misanalysed as a demand side boost, the original Help to Buy scheme was a supply side boost to address the immediate challenge that volume house builders faced, which was that new buyers did not have the higher deposits necessary to secure a mortgage after the credit crunch. The Help to Buy programme… Continue reading
