Tag Archives: modern
Major changes announced for Scottish rental sector and rural housing
The private rented sector in Scotland is facing change with improved security for tenants and rights and safeguards for landlords, it has been announced. The Scottish government said that a new Private Tenancies Bill will be introduced to provide more predictable rents and curb excessive rent rises with local rent controls for areas where prices are deemed too high. A new Rural Housing Fund will be created to help create more affordable homes in the countryside and more details on the current Help to Buy scheme for first time buyers will follow. The Scottish Private Rented Tenancy will replace the current Assured system. It will remove the ‘no-fault’ ground for repossession, meaning a landlord can no longer ask a tenant to leave simply because the fixed term has ended. It will also provide comprehensive and robust grounds for repossession that will allow landlords to regain possession in specified circumstances. The aim is to provide more predictable rents and protection for tenants against excessive rent increases, including the ability to introduce local rent controls for rent pressure areas and overall to create a more streamlined, clearer to understand tenancy system that is fit for the modern private rented sector. The First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon also revealed that the Scottish Government’s target to provide 30,000 affordable homes by the end of this parliament is set to be exceeded. By the end of March 2015, a total of 26,972 affordable homes, some 90% of the target, had been delivered. Another £195 million will be made available over next three years to extend the Help to Buy (Scotland) scheme which help at least 6,500 households and there will also be a review of the planning system with a particular emphasis on delivering more homes by delivering a quicker more accessible and efficient process. The Rural Housing Fund aims to help people who wish to stay and live in rural communities where there is often a lack of affordable homes. It will be available from 2016 for a period of three years. Graeme Brown, director of Shelter Scotland, described the PRS bill as a very positive step that is good news for tenants, landlords and letting agents alike. ‘We look forward to seeing the bill in more detail, the timescales for implementing these changes and how they will work in practice,’ he said. ‘The private rented sector is now home to 330,000 households across Scotland, including around 85,000 families with children. The changes included in the bill will begin the process of reforming the private rented sector and making it more modern, stable, flexible, predictable and fairer for everyone that calls it home,’ he added. Harriet Protheroe-Davis from the Living Rent Campaign, welcomed the move on rent controls. ‘It is important that the model of rent controls fully addresses the problems in rented housing, and we will continue to campaign to ensure that it does, but today’s announcement shows that the Scottish Government has listened to the thousands of people… Continue reading
UK regional office market sees demand increase
Occupier demand in the UK regional office market increased 51% in the first quarter of 2015 compared with the previous quarter, with total investment at its highest level since 2007. This growth totalled a combined take up of 2.08million square feet and 49% above the five year quarterly average, according to the latest data from real estate firm Knight Frank. Birmingham saw the top performance in the second quarter with take up of 521,136 square feet which was boosted by a number of large transactions, the most significant being the 212,000 square feet pre-let to HSBC at Arena Central. Pre-letting activity also increased in the second quarter of the year, impacting on new and grade A availability which is down by 17% year on year collectively to 2.2 million square feet. In the investment market some £2.09 billion of regional office assets changed hands in the first half of 2015, the sector’s strongest first half year since the second half of 2007. Bristol, Manchester and Birmingham were the main focus of investment activity, accounting for over half of total investment turnover. Bristol in particular saw some sizeable transactions, including the off market purchase of Templeback by Orchard Street Investment Management in June 2015 for £58.5 million, reflecting a net initial yield of 5.34% and Aviva Investors’ acquisition of 66 Queen Square for £32.7 million, at a net initial yield of 4.94%. ‘Improved occupier confidence has led to a surge in pre-letting activity and high levels of take-up across the main regional office markets in the second quarter,’ said Stephen Hodgson, head of regional offices at Knight Frank. The firm anticipates that this will be reflected in rental growth and further starts on new development schemes over the next 18 months. ‘On the investment front, despite the fact that yields are approaching historic lows we also feel that there is scope for further yield compression,’ added Hodgson. Continue reading
US housing values drop for first time in almost four years
The housing market in the United States is slowing down, with home values falling month on month for the first time in almost four years, according to the latest index data. Prices fell 0.1% in July compared to the previous month and year on year growth was 3%, down from 3.4% in June, the Zillow real estate market report shows. The report says that nationally home value appreciation is levelling off after its rapid pace in the early years of the recovery. Of the 517 metros covered by the Zillow index, 204 saw a slowdown, including major metros like Washington, DC and Cincinnati. Zillow says that the slowing appreciation is a sign that the market is returning to normal and economists have expected to see growth flattening out as the recovery continues. Even strong markets like Denver, Dallas, San Jose and San Francisco, which had double digit annual home value growth in July, saw their monthly appreciation rates ease compared with June. ‘This slight dip in home values is a sign of the times. Many people didn't think it was happening, but it is. We've been expecting to see a monthly decline as markets return to normal,’ said Zillow chief economist Svenja Gudell. ‘However, this is not like the bubble bust. We're not going to see 10% declines. The market is levelling off, and it's good news, particularly for buyers, because it will ease some of the competitive pressure,’ Gudell added. She explained that slowing home values could provide more opportunities for hopeful buyers who have been waiting on the side lines for the market to cool off. ‘More homes may be coming online as home owners who have been watching strong home value growth decide to list their houses as appreciation slows and smaller gains are expected. This could help ease the constrained inventory the market has been facing for the past several months,’ she pointed out. Meanwhile, the index also shows that residential rents continue to grow at a rapid pace, up 4.2% from last July to $1,376. With no sign of rents slowing down and the potential for more homes for sale, conditions may be right for buyers to enter the market, the firm suggests. Continue reading
