Tag Archives: real estate
Landlords in UK divided over whether the country should leave or stay in the EU
One in three residential landlords in the UK are still undecided about whether they will vote to leave or remain in the upcoming referendum on the European Union, according to new research. The landlord panel survey from the National Landlords Association (NLA) is published a little over a week before the referendum on 23 June which will decide whether or not the UK stays in the EU. The findings show that landlords are evenly split, with 35% intending to vote leave and 35% intending to vote to remain with the rest undecided. Landlords were also divided about whether EU membership would be beneficial to their future business prospects, with 53% believing that EU membership would be beneficial and 47% believing it would be harmful. Regionally, more landlords in London intend to vote to remain in the EU than anywhere else in the UK at 45%. By contrast, more landlords in the North East intend to vote to leave than anywhere else in the UK, with 44% saying they will do so. A breakdown of the survey figures show that in Scotland 42% want to remain and 30% to leave while in Wales it is just 20% who would vote to remain and 40% to leave. Elsewhere it is pretty evenly split with 38% in the East of England for remaining and 40% to leave. In the South West it is 35% and 36% respectively, in the North West it is also 35% and 36%, in the South East it is30% and 37%, while in Yorkshire and Humber it is 33% and 29%. In the West Midlands 31% want to remain and 40% to leave and it is even more diverse in the East Midlands with just 24% opting to remain and 40% to leave. And in London some 45% in the central area want to remain and 29% to leave but in outer London it is 37% and 34%. ‘Landlords, much like the rest of the British public, are divided on how they will vote in the EU referendum which means the decision looks to go down to the wire,’ said Richard Lambert, chief executive officer at the NLA. ‘The Remain and Leave campaigns have both had difficulty persuading the public on the benefits or hazards of a Brexit vote, and they have struggled to provide any clear analysis about the impact exiting the EU would have on the buy to let market,’ he explained. ‘As a result, landlords appear more likely to vote in this referendum based on their attitudes to issues such as national security, trade, and immigration, rather than the effect on the UK property market or their businesses,’ he added. Continue reading
New Zealand seeing increasing number of new homes being built
Building consents for new dwellings are at a higher level in New Zealand than last year, up 12% in April compared with the same month in 2015. In seasonally adjusted terms the number increased by 6.6% but growth has eased in recent months, according to the data from Statistics New Zealand. However, the annual total is still at an 11 year high although most of the growth has been in Auckland and nearby regions, while Canterbury has decreased. The apartments component has been virtually unchanged over the past year, following strong increases during the previous three years. Houses, town houses, and retirement village units have continued to increase. The data also shows that the seasonally adjusted value of residential building work in Auckland grew 13% in the first quarter of 2016 quarter compared with the final quarter of 2015. ‘Auckland residential construction topped $1 billion for the first time in the March 2016 quarter, with another half-billion of non-residential work. Every week this quarter about $120 million worth of building work was put in place in Auckland,’ said business indicators senior manager Neil Kelly. Building and Housing Minister Nick Smith said the country has seen the longest and strongest period of growth in residential construction in its history with four consecutive years of 10% plus growth nationally and 15% plus growth in Auckland. ‘This is important because supply is at the core of New Zealand’s challenges around affordable, social and emergency housing,’ he added. The value of residential and commercial building work for the year to April of $17.6 billion is an all-time high and 14% up on the previous year. The sector is on schedule for 85,000 new homes to be built across New Zealand in this term of Parliament, up from 60,000 last term and for an all-time record of 36,000 homes being built in Auckland, which would be the largest in any Parliamentary term. The figures show a dramatic growth in building activity in the regions. This building boom began in Christchurch in 2012, spread to Auckland in 2014 and is now flowing to centres such as Whangarei, up 53%, Palmerston North up 57%, Queenstown Lakes up 40%. Activity is also up by 26% in Tauranga and in Hamilton while Auckland has seen growth of 15% but Christchurch is down 9%. ‘We are going to need to maintain this strong growth in building activity to keep up with New Zealand’s population growth, which is the result of record numbers of Kiwis coming home,’ said Smith. ‘We intend to continue to roll out a consistent and considered plan to improve housing supply and affordability,’ he added. Continue reading
Lack of supply and cheap mortgages continue to fuel price growth in the UK
Property prices continue to rise in most regions in the UK with growth driven by stock scarcity and cheap mortgages, according to the latest asking price index. Prices in Greater London and Wales dipped 0.4% and in the North East they were unchanged while the East of England led growth with a rise of 1.6% month on month coming on top of a 2% rise the previous month. With prices rising in all mainland UK regions, except Wales and Greater London, overall the mix adjusted average asking price is up a further 0.4% in June, the home.co.uk index shows. At the same time supply has fallen 7% year on year since last month. Only two regions showed small year on year rises, up 2% in Greater London and just 1% in the South East. But according to Doug Shephard, the firm’s director, the main indicators show that the property market is in the best shape it has been since the financial crisis. ‘The slowdown in London may be regarded as a return to a more sustainable market following the frenetic activity observed during 2013/2015,’ he said. ‘Moreover, several regional markets that were left behind in the wake of the Greater London surge are now showing significant activity and price growth. Lack of supply remains a fundamental driver in the current market and the total stock of property for sale continues to be historically very low,’ he explained. He pointed out that the acute supply shortage in the East of England has driven prices ever skyward, up 13.9% since June 2015, and this region is now outpacing London and the South East by a considerable margin in terms of home price appreciation. ‘We anticipate that prices will soon surge in the East and West Midlands in a similar fashion over the next 12 months as the supply of homes for sale has dropped by 13% and 14% respectively year on year,’ Shephard said. He believes that a slower London property market has prompted more modest asking prices. In fact, the mix-adjusted average dipped this month in response to rising marketing times and modest rises in supply and affordability look set to constrain prices going forward. Shephard also pointed out that due to improvements in mean marketing times, the Welsh property market is now the second slowest region, ahead of the North East. ‘Should this trend continue, we may well see prices there rise by more than the mere 1.2% registered over the last year,’ he added. Overall, the current mix-adjusted average asking price for England and Wales is now 6.8% higher than it was in June 2015 and Shephard predicts that this upward trend will continue at least into 2017. A breakdown of the figures shows that in Scotland the average asking price is now £179,131, up 1.1% month on month and up 6.7% year on year, while in Wales it is £184,858, a month on month fall of 0.4% but a year on… Continue reading
