Tag Archives: portugal
Property prices up across most of Portugal including Lisbon and the Algarve
The average price of a home in Portugal increased by 5.4% in the second quarter of 2016 when compared to the same period last year, according to the data to be published. Property prices rose across most regions of Portugal during the quarter taking the national average to €1,187 per square meter. The data from online property information platform Idealista also shows that growth was led by gains in Lisbon where the average property rose in value by 6% year on year to an average €1,451 per square meter. It means that Lisbon still has the most expensive property in Portugal with prices in the centre up 9.1% to an average of €2,716 per square meter. Prices in the Algarve, which is popular with overseas buyers increased by 4% year on year to an average of €1,361 per square meter. The data also shows that in the north of the country prices increased by 2% to €907 per square meter an in Centro they were up by 1.9% to €948 per square meter. However property prices fell in Alentejo and Madeira, down by an average of 3.3% over the same period. But in Madeira, an archipelago in the north Atlantic that is part of Portugal, prices are the third highest at €1,102 per square meter, followed by the Alentejo at €1,101 per square meter. Continue reading
Conveyancing activity in UK saw ups and downs in second quarter of 2016
Conveyancing activity in the UK residential housing market increased in the second quarter of 2016 with changes to stamp duty pushing up transactions by 24% year on year, the latest data shows. Sales jumped from 230,430 to 286,425 as completions were registered following the rush to beat the Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) changes for buy to let properties and second homes in April 2016, according to the latest edition of the Conveyancing Market Tracker from Search Acumen, the search provider. Completions recorded in the second quarter of 2016 were some 30% higher than two years ago and 59% higher than three years previously and compared with the first quarter of 2016 the three months preceding the SDLT reform there was a rise of 4% as conveyancers dealt with the reverberations across the housing market and the rush of transactions were logged as completed by Land Registry. The tracker report, which uses Land Registry data to examine competitive pressures in the conveyancing market, shows the top five firms led the way in terms of growth compared to the rest of the market, with completed activity rising 17% over the quarter and 41% over the year to reach an average of 3,523 transactions per firm over the three month period. However, outside the top five, the most significant quarterly growth was seen among those firms ranked 501 or lower. In the second quarter their average volume of transactions rose by 5% from the previous quarter. Year on year, those firms ranked 501 to 1,000 experienced 23% growth while those outside the top 1,000 recorded 19% growth. A combination of the SDLT aftershock and pre-Brexit activity meant that conveyancers experienced a rollercoaster ride from month to month during the second quarter. April saw the largest number of businesses responsible for completed transactions at Land Registry in any month since September 2014. The total of 4,374 was 4% higher than a year earlier, when 4,201 firms were active, and suggests the stamp duty rush brought more occasional players back to the market. Volumes of completed conveyancing transactions were also at their highest in April since monthly records began five years earlier in April 2011. Over the month, activity jumped 26% to 114,425 in April from 90,476 in March. Despite an inevitable slowdown the following month, both May and June also saw year on year rises of 14% with firms completing 81,583 and 90,477 transactions respectively, as activity picked up again despite the uncertainty ahead of the UK’s referendum on its EU membership. ‘Few sectors have been left untouched by the tumultuous events of the past few months, and the impact of the EU referendum on the political and economic landscape. Our analysis shows the conveyancing industry has been tried and tested in recent months, and the pressure shows no sign of easing as our country begins to work out what… Continue reading
UK only key country in EU likely to see property prices fall in next 18 months
House prices will rise in nearly all European markets this year on the back of historically low lending rates but in the UK prices will fall over the next 18 months due to the decision to leave the European Union, says a new analysis report. The German housing market is set to see the strongest growth due to high demand and tight supply of homes for sale but Italy is likely to see prices remain static due to a poor economic outlook, according to the report from S&P Global Ratings. ‘While uncertainties caused by the UK's June 23 referendum decision to leave the EU could dent eurozone growth and, by extension, the housing market recovery over the next few years, we don't expect that it will derail it,’ said Jean-Michel Six, chief economist for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa at S&P Global Ratings. The report forecasts that eurozone real GDP will expand 1.7% this year, and it expects that the European Central Bank's (ECB's) accommodative monetary stance, leading to historically low sovereign bond yields and mortgage interest rates, will spur improvements in Europe's housing markets. The UK is the only housing market for which house price declines are forecast as a result of the Brexit vote, although it points out that strong market gains in the first half of this year should keep full year house price rises at 5%, with the market only likely declining in 2017 by 2%. Although Ireland's economy has tight economic ties with the UK its housing market will continue its robust recovery, with prices growing by 6% this year, aided by the ongoing improvement in the labour market and a housing supply shortage. The forecast says that the Netherlands, also exposed to the UK economy, should also continue to see nominal prices rise by 5% this year on the back of economic improvements and favourable policy measures. Even the French housing market, which has been falling in recent years, is showing some resilience and looks set to grow by 2% in 2016 and in 2017 against a backdrop of low lending rates and modest economic growth. The strongest residential housing market gains this year will be in Germany, where robust economic fundamentals, a shortage of housing that is being further squeezed by the surge of migrants, and historically low lending rates should lead to prices inflating by 7% on last year. Spain and Belgium will each see house price rises of 4% this year. In Spain, economic growth, declining unemployment, and interest from foreign buyers should underpin a continued recovery of house prices the report says. In Belgium, forthcoming changes to fiscal rules and very favourable loan rates are still underpinning demand this year. While economic recovery and price incentives are also continuing to lift house prices in Portugal, a large stock of nonperforming domestic loans is… Continue reading
