Tag Archives: market
Survey reveals positive sentiment in Dubai real estate market
People in Dubai are expecting the residential property market to recover in the next 12 months with this positive sentiment expected to attract more buyers, according to a new survey. Some 50% are expecting the housing market to improve and those renting are keen to buy with 51% indicating so, the details of the Dubai […] The post Survey reveals positive sentiment in Dubai real estate market appeared first on PropertyWire . Continue reading
Improved rail links to London boost prime property prices in commuter towns
Prime property prices in key UK locations where train services make them commuter zones for London have seen prices rise in the second quarter of 2016, according to the latest index data. In Bristol, where commuters are within reach of London’s Paddington station, prime property prices have increased by 7.4% in the year to June 2016 with the second quarter of the year seeing a 17% rise in new buyer registration and a 19% rise in viewings. In nearby Cheltenham prime property prices increased by 8.6% year on year and 2% quarter on quarter, according to the index data from real estate firm Knight Frank, and this compared with annual growth of 1.3% in the UK wide prime property market. But in Oxford, another popular commuter city, prime prices increases by just 0.3% between April and June, taking annual price growth to 0.7% but the data report says that demand remains strong. In Oxford the slow down in price growth is attributed to uncertainty in the run up to June’s historic referendum and the decision to leave the European Union. ‘After several years of strong price increases, during which the city has comfortably outperformed the wider UK, the latest figures suggest that price growth at the top end of the market in Oxford has started to ease,’ said Oliver Knight, research associate at Knight Frank. ‘While the fundamentals underpinning the market remain unchanged, the reasons for the easing are twofold. Firstly, there was a softening in demand for prime property in the immediate run up to the EU referendum, with potential purchasers adopting a wait and see approach,’ he explained. ‘Secondly, and arguably more importantly, recent changes to stamp duty levied on the purchase price of the most valuable properties has made buyers increasingly price sensitive,’ he added. He pointed out that prime homes in Oxford worth more than £2 million rose in value by just 0.1% in the year to June as buyers and vendors factored higher purchase costs into pricing and offers. In comparison, properties worth up to £750,000, where the stamp duty burden is lower, rose by 1.7%. According to William Kirkland, Knight Frank Partner in the firm’s Oxford City Department, demand remains consistent and new high speed rail link at Oxford Parkway, which opened in October 2015, has helped stimulate demand in property markets to the north of the city as commuters using the line can now be in London Marylebone in under an hour. ‘As a result, there has been an increase in the number of Londoners looking to buy property in Oxford so far this year. Some 25% of all prospective buyers registering with Knight Frank's Oxford office in 2016 were based in the capital, up from 19% in 2015,’ he added. A growing imbalance between supply and demand continues to drive strong price growth in the prime Cheltenham market. There were 19% fewer prime properties available for sale across Cheltenham at the end of June year on year… Continue reading
UK residential sales drop just 0.9% post Brexit vote
Residential property sales in the UK fell slightly by 0.9% between June 2016 and July 2016 and were down 8.3% lower compared with the same period in 2015, according to the latest data from HMRC. For July 2016 the number of non-adjusted residential transactions was about 0.7% higher compared with June 2016 and 13.6% lower than in July 2015. The seasonally adjusted estimate of the number of non-residential property transactions decreased by 7.5% between June 2016 and July 2016 and was 1.7% lower compared with the same month last year. The report points out that there was a large increase in transactions in March 2016 followed by a substantial reduction in April which was associated with the introduction of the higher stamp duty rates on additional properties in April 2016. However, whilst April and May 2016 are lower than the corresponding months in 2015, it should be noted that the total for March to May 2016 is still substantially higher than the corresponding period last year. Non-tax factors may have played a role as well, for example the Bank of England's plans to curb buy to let mortgages resulting in a rush to purchase before April 2016, and the European Union referendum affecting transactions in recent months. According to Andy Sommerville, director of Search Acumen, the statistics suggest the market is stabilising, as the month on month change sits at under 1%. ‘Many would have expected a sharp fall in transaction activity in what was the first full month in our post-referendum economy, yet an underwhelming change suggests the darkness in our market shows little sign of worsening,’ he said. ‘Despite the encouraging resilience the market has shown in the short term, the bigger picture reveals an 8.3% decrease in transactions since July last year, demonstrating the true hit we’ve taken from Brexit, combined with the underlying issue of affordability,’ he pointed out. ‘As our economy absorbs the shock of the past three months, it is positive that home buyers are being given a leg-up into the property market to reignite demand and boost our industry,’ he added. Doug Crawford, chief executive officer of My Home Move, believes the data shows that the property market largely shook off the short term uncertainty of the Brexit vote. ‘Following the referendum there was talk that the market would be quickly affected by the outcome, but these fears have been allayed with residential transactions falling by just 0.9% month on month. While transaction levels remain lower than a year ago, this is in the context of a market that is still feeling the effects of changes to stamp duty, which led to a frontloaded first quarter,’ he explained. ‘The figures reflect our own experiences of the market. Following the referendum the vast majority of purchases went ahead without any issue, and chains were largely unaffected. In the medium term the market will remain stable, and our view is that it is strong enough to weather… Continue reading
