Tag Archives: middle-east
Property sales in Scotland up over 20% month on month due to property tax change
Property sales in Scotland increased by 21% month on month to record the strongest March for homes sales in eight years, the latest index figures show. The rise was partly due to buy to let landlords rushing to beat the extra 3% property tax imposed on additional homes at the beginning of April, according to the index report from Your Move. The data also shows that Midlothian recorded record high house prices and the fastest increase in sales, rising 48% in the first quarter of 2016 year on year while overall property values were up 0.8% month on month in March, the quickest rise since August 2015. However year on year property prices in Scotland are down 9.7% year on year, taking the average house price to £169,379. Christine Campbell, Your Move managing director in Scotland, pointed out that sales in Scotland were not as high as elsewhere in the UK where transactions soared by 60% month on month in March. She said that the more modest increase in Scotland may have been due to John Swinney announcing the property tax changes a month later than George Osborne, so many second home buyers may not have had time to plan their investments. But Scottish sales for the first quarter of this year are still well above the same period in 2015, up 18% year on year and Campbell explained that the construction of new homes in Midlothian has enabled the area to become the only place in Scotland where house prices stand at a record high in March. She also pointed out that while house price growth is down year on year, it’s important to remember that this was due to the huge spike in house prices back in March 2015, following a rush of sales brought forward to avoid the introduction of the LBTT. ‘But with buy to let landlords opting to buy flats and other more affordable properties, this hasn’t translated into too much price turbulence. House prices have generally risen by between 0.01 and 0.8% each month since July 2015, which suggests the current spurt is healthy and sustainable,’ said Campbell. She also pointed out that an uplift in million pound home sales has propelled East Renfrewshire up the rankings in March, with house prices in the area increasing faster than anywhere else in Scotland, up 8.1% month on month. These additional high end home sales mean the area now also has the highest average property value of any area at £257,529. 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
Call for UK Government to do more to provide affordable homes
Councils in the UK have called on the Government to do more to tackle affordable housing as prices continue on an upward trajectory. A report on housing need in the UK published by the Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE) and the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) calls for urgent Government action to deliver the homes needed in the UK. It also reveals that 72% of councils think the National Planning Police Framework (NPPF) hinders building of affordable housing, 96% of councils say that their need for affordable housing is severe or moderate and 7% think starter homes will help address affordable housing. In particular they says that it is the viability test laid out in the NPPF that is hampering their ability to build social and affordable housing. However 11% of councils think that the viability test will provide the numbers that we need to tackle the biggest housing crisis of a generation, an increase of 19% compared to a year ago. ‘With 96% of councils describing their need for affordable homes as severe or moderate, and 89% worried that the extension of Right to Buy will lead to less affordable homes, it is clear that there is a real crisis,’ said Kate Henderson, chief executive of the TCPA. ‘Councils are concerned that government policy is not enabling them to deliver genuinely affordable housing. We need to have a housing strategy that provides affordable homes to all people,’ she added. The report sets out recommendations to tackle the challenges of providing the necessary housing, saying that the government need to put in place a housing strategy that provides decent homes for everyone in society. The report also recommends that councils are not forced to sell off their social housing to fund the extension of Right to Buy with the research showing that nine of 10 councils are worried that the extension of Right to Buy will lead to less housing available for social rent. ‘Our main message is we need Government to put in place a housing strategy for the nation that provides decent homes for all. Whilst efforts have been concentrated on so called affordable homes this is often not the case and these homes remain out of reach for the vast majority of people,’ said Paul O'Brien, APSE chief executive. ‘The situation is even worse for those dependent on social and genuinely affordable housing for rent. Current housing policy is in need of demolition. The time has come to start afresh by putting local authorities and new council homes at the heart of a new housing strategy,’ he pointed out. The report also showcases innovation in local government, including effective new models of housing delivery, and the report calls for the government to give back control to local authorities over their investment plans, rents and assets. This is the second housing research collaboration between… Continue reading
