Tag Archives: london
Positive sentiment on future house price growth in UK slips to three year low
Household sentiment on future house price growth in the UK has slipped to a three year low with 23.7% believing that the value of their home increase over the last month. Some 4.4% believe that prices have fallen, according to the latest house price sentiment index from Knight Frank and Markit Economics with the reading falling from 61 to 59.7. Households in the North East perceived that the value of their home fell in June, the first time that households in any English region perceived house prices had fallen since August 2013. The future HPSI, which measures what households think will happen to the value of their property over the next year, fell to 67.7 in June from 70.3 in May. This is the lowest reading recorded by the index since August 2013. The gap between sentiment in the North and South of the UK is now wider than at any time since the inception of the index. But some 6.5% of UK households said they planned to buy a property in the next 12 months, up from 5.4% in May and the highest number since August 2015. ‘The decline in the future household sentiment index to a near three-year low coincides with growing uncertainty over the result of next week’s European Union referendum as the debates over the UK’s future step up a gear,’ said Gráinne Gilmore, head of UK residential research at Knight Frank. ‘The proportion of households who expect the value of their home to fall over the next 12 months rose to the highest level in nearly two years, but overall households still expect the value of their property to continue rising in the coming year, despite the uncertainty about the result of the vote,’ she explained. She also pointed out that the regional disparity in the index readings highlights the multi-speed housing market in the UK at present, with gap between sentiment in the North and the South widening to the biggest margin since the index began in 2009. Tim Moore, senior economist at Markit, agreed that heightened political and economic uncertainty seems to have weighed on house price sentiment to some degree in June, with expectations for the year ahead slipping to the lowest since August 2013. However, he pointed out that the month to month easing in house price sentiment was relatively modest, suggesting that UK households perceived little fundamental change in property market conditions since May. ‘Instead, ultra-low mortgages, improving labour market conditions and little sign of impending interest rate rises all appear to have helped keep house price sentiment at an elevated level in comparison to the survey’s historical average,’ he added. Continue reading
Number of retired people renting in UK soars in last four years
The number of people living in private rented accommodation in retirement in the UK has soared by more than 200,000 in the last four years, according to a new poll. Overall, the survey from the National Landlords Association (NLA) shows that the proportion of retired private renters has grown by 13% since 2012 as more and more people turn to the private rented sector. Some 17% of the retired private renting population live in the South East, the area with the highest proportion across the UK. However, just 3% live in London which is the area with the smallest proportion area across England and Wales for renting in retirement. There are almost four times as many retired renters in the North West at 15% compared to the North East at 4% and twice as many retirees rent property in the West Midlands at 8% compared to the East Midlands at 4%. However, the proportion of landlords who let to retired renters has almost halved during the same timeframe, with 9% of landlords saying they currently let to retirees compared to 19% in 2012. The findings suggest that it could become harder for those approaching retirement to find suitable rented accommodation in the future, especially in high demand areas, according to Carolyn Uphill, chairman of the NLA. ‘More and more people are turning to private rented housing at every stage of their lives, including in retirement. Landlords appreciate the stability and assurances often provided by older households, but are finding it increasingly difficult to build businesses around the needs of potentially vulnerable tenants,’ she explained. ‘Successive cuts to the welfare budget, uncertainty about pension provisions, and the devastating impact of the Government’s tax changes are likely to mean that private landlords will soon be unable provide homes in high cost areas like Central London for anyone without a well-paying job,’ she pointed out. ‘As the proportion of retired renters continues to grow there’s a real worry that homes won’t be available in the private sector, forcing people to look further afield, leaving communities they have known and contributed to for decades,’ she added. Continue reading
Average rents in England and Wales fall by 0.2% month on month
Average rents for homes to let across England and Wales fell 0.2% in May month on month and now stand at £792 per month, according to the latest index data. This compares to a long term average monthly rise of 0.4% over every May since the recession but they are still up 1.8% over the last 12 months, the data from the buy to let index from Your Move and Reeds Rains shows. However, on an annual basis rents have seen half the annual rate of rental growth seen at the start of 2016, when in January this stood previously at 3.6%. According to Adrian Gill, director of lettings agents Your Move and Reeds Rains, the number of properties to let coming on the rental market has disrupted the normal dynamics of supply and demand. ‘Landlords escaping a much larger stamp duty bill by completing their purchases before 1st April have now finished their repairs and paperwork, with these homes to let competing for tenants in May and into June. That short term mismatch has made May an exceptional month, with excellent deals available for some prospective tenants,’ he explained. He believes that overall the tax changes to the buy-to-let industry will discourage some property investors, and most of the properties that became available to let in May will have been planned purchases brought forward from later in the year. ‘The net effect will not be more properties to let, quite the opposite. If new regulations and taxes produce a drought of homes to let, then the overall shortage of housing in the UK will only bite harder for tenants. Meanwhile, this heightened shortage and possibly higher rents as a result could also protect landlords somewhat from the financial effects of more punitive rules and regulations,’ Gill pointed out. A breakdown of the figures show that rent rises in London have slowed to just 1.0% over the year to May 2016. This compares to a peak seen in September 2015 when rents in London were 11.6% higher than a year before at the time. By contrast, the East Midlands have witnessed rent rises of 7.3% over the year, followed by the West Midlands with 5.5% annual rent rises and the East of England with 3.6%. All 10 regions of England and Wales have seen rents in May higher than a year ago. However the joint slowest annual rent rises have been in Wales and the South East, both seeing rents rise just 0.5% over the last 12 months. London also leads the negative trend on a monthly basis with average rents in the capital falling 0.7% between April and May, a faster drop compared to a more modest drop of 0.2% in the month before. London is followed by the East Midlands where rents are 0.6% lower than a month ago and Yorkshire and the… Continue reading