Tag Archives: middle-east
Average rent for a two bed home in London set to surpass £2,000 a month
Average monthly rents for two bedroom homes are expected to reach £2,000 by the late summer of this year, according to new research. It currently stands at £1,867 per calendar month, up 2% already since the beginning of the year, according to the London Rental Market Report from estate agents Portico. Given that tenancies which begin in September are typically 11% higher than tenancies that begin in December, Portico is predicting that two bedroom rents will reach £2,008 per calendar month by September this year. And with two people sharing the cost of a two bedroom home, that is £1,004 per calendar month each, this shared rent figure will use 46% of the average London monthly net salary. The report shows that Ealing has seen the largest increase in rent at 6.9%, taking the rent for a two bedroom home to £1,825 per calendar month, followed by Richmond-upon-Thames at £1,934 for two bedrooms per calendar month, a rise of 6%, and Lambeth at £2,051, a rise of 5.8%. However, average rents have fallen for two bedroom homes across seven London boroughs, including Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea where they are down by 5.7% and 1.1% respectively. Bromley has recorded the greatest decline in monthly rents for all properties with a reduction of 6.3% over the first quarter of this year, followed by Hillingdon with a fall of 4.4% and Kingston-upon-Thames down 4.1%. ‘The majority of London boroughs are seeing rent increases anywhere from 1% to almost 7% so for landlords who may be feeling under particular pressure given recent government announcements, this may provide some welcome news,’ said Robert Nichols, Portico managing director. ‘But our latest report also shows some significant rent drops. Bromley is down over 6% with Kingston and Hillingdon also experiencing 4% falls. All in all, these declines won't prevent the average two bed rent tipping over the £2,000 mark later this year,’ he added. A breakdown of the figures show that the largest increase in rent for all home types was in Hammersmith and Fulham along with Lambeth with a rise of 4.7%, followed by Ealing at 4.6%, Westminster at 4.3% and Kensington and Chelsea at 4.2%. For two bedroom homes the largest rent increase was in Ealing at 6.9%, followed by Richmond-upon-Thames at 6%, Lambeth at 5.8%, Lewisham at 5.2% and Wandsworth at 5.1%. The largest decrease in rents for all home types was in Bromley with a fall of 6.3%, while rents were down by 4.4% in Hillingdon, by 4.1% in Kingston-upon-Thames, by 4% in Haringey and by 3.7% in Enfield. For two bedroom homes the largest fall in rents was in Westminster with a decline of 5.7%, followed by Harrow which fell 3%, Bromley down by 2.6%, Redbridge by 1.3% and Enfield by 1.3%. Continue reading
US existing home sales bounce back after unexpected decline
Sales of existing homes in the United States bounced back in March with big gains in the Northeast and Midwest, according to the latest index data to be published. Total existing sales, which are completed transactions that include single family homes, town homes, condominiums and co-ops, increased by 5.1% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.33 million in March from a downwardly revised 5.07 million in February. The data from the National Association of Realtors also shows that overall sales rose in all four major regions last month and were up 1.5% compared with March 2015. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist said the rebound was welcome after an uncharacteristically large decline in February. ‘Closings came back in force last month as a greater number of buyers, mostly in the Northeast and Midwest, overcame depressed inventory levels and steady price growth to close on a home,’ he explained. ‘Buyer demand remains sturdy in most areas this spring and the mid-priced market is doing quite well. However, sales are softer both at the very low and very high ends of the market because of supply limitations and affordability pressures,’ he added. The index also shows that the median existing home price for all housing types in March was $222,700, up 5.7% from March 2015 when it was $210,700. March's price increase marks the 49th consecutive month of year on year gains. Total housing inventory at the end of March increased 5.9% to 1.98 million existing homes available for sale, but is still 1.5% lower than a year ago when it was 2.01 million. Unsold inventory is at a 4.5 month supply at the current sales pace, up from 4.4 months in February. ‘The choppiness in sales activity so far this year is directly related to the unevenness in the rate of new listings coming onto the market to replace what is, for the most part, being sold rather quickly,’ said Yun. ‘Additionally, a segment of would be buyers at the upper end of the market appear to have been spooked by January's stock market correction,’ he explained. Matching the lowest share since August 2015, properties typically stayed on the market for 47 days in March, a decrease from 59 days in February and below the 52 days in March 2015. Short sales were on the market the longest at a median of 120 days in March, while foreclosures sold in 50 days and non-distressed homes took 46 days. Some 42% of homes sold in March were on the market for less than a month, the highest since July 2015 when it was 43%. The data also shows that the share of first time buyers was 30% in March, unchanged both from February and a year ago. First time buyers in all of 2015 also represented an average of 30%. ‘With rents steadily rising and average fixed rates well below 4%, qualified first time buyers should be more active participants than what they are right now. Unfortunately,… Continue reading
Rents up by an average of 3% across England and Wales year on year
Rents in England and Wales have increased by an average of 3% over the last year to £791 per month, according to the latest buy to let index. Record rents were recorded in the Midlands while rents fell in Wales and the North East, the data from the Your Move and Reeds Rains index also shows. On a monthly basis March was a relatively subdued month, with the level of average rents the same as was seen in February. Month on month rent growth has dipped marginally from 0.1% between January and February 2016 to a flat 0% between February and March 2016. Leading the whole of England & Wales, rents in the East Midlands now stand 8.5% higher than in March last year, at an all-time record high of £613 per month. This is followed closely by the West Midlands with 6.7% annual rent rises, taking the average rent in the West Midlands region to a separate all-time record of £597 per month. London is in third place in terms of annual rent rises, up 4.6% from the same point last year. However at £1,231 the capital’s average monthly rent remains below the all-time record of £1,301 set six months ago in September 2015. At the other end of the spectrum Wales and the North East are host to annual rent falls, both dropping by 2.2% since March last year. This takes rents in Wales to £551 per month and rents in the North East to £507 per month in March 2016. On a monthly basis the East Midlands matches the South East with a 0.7% month-on-month rise in rents, followed by the East of England where rents have risen by 0.6% between February and March. Meanwhile, taking into account both rental income and capital growth, but before property specific costs such as maintenance, the average existing landlord in England and Wales has seen total returns rise to 12.2% over the 12 months to March. The index points out that this is a clear jump from 10.7% seen a month before, over the 12 months to February, and is also the fastest annual rate of return for existing landlords seen since November 2014, when the same measure last reached 12.3%. In absolute terms this means that the average landlord in England and Wales has seen a return of £22,135 over the last year before any deductions such as property maintenance and mortgage payments. Of this, the average capital gain contributed £13,494 while rental income made up £8,641 over the 12 months to March. While a recent surge in capital values has boosted total returns for existing landlords, the same trend has suppressed rental yields for those aspiring to become landlords, or looking to grow their property portfolio,’ the report points out. As rents rise alongside property prices, rental yields are proving relatively resistant to rising purchase prices. However the gross yield on a typical rental property in England and Wales, before taking into account factors… Continue reading
