Tag Archives: real-estate
UK home buyers most concerned about prices and mortgages
Financial worries dominate the thinking of today's generation of prospective home buyers in the UK with prices and getting a mortgage the biggest concerns, new research shows. The survey from the Home Builders Federation (HBF) also highlights the change in attitudes to home buying between young and old, showing that whilst 84% of 18 to 34 years olds still want to own their own home, there are huge financial obstacles to realising their dreams. Indeed, some 73% cited the difficulty of saving for a deposit, for 69% it is property prices and 53% the difficulty of getting a mortgage. The survey also found that one in four 18 to 34 year olds are totally unaware of any government support available to them, such as the 5% deposit Help to Buy equity loan scheme or the Help to Buy ISA aimed at helping young people save for a deposit. And overall younger people today are more concerned than their elders about the running costs of homes with 67% of 18 to 24 year olds taking this into account when considering whether to buy compared to 40% of 35 to 44 year olds. Younger people are also much more likely to consider buying a new build, which are up to 50% cheaper to run than some second hand homes with 55% saying it is likely they would consider buying a new build compared to just 23% of over 45s. It also identifies the huge amounts of money second hand home buyers spend on their properties with 47% of people spending over £10,000, and more than half incurring the expenditure associated with replacing bathrooms or kitchens. Some 13% of people spent over £40,000 upgrading their home and the HBF estimates it costs around £45,000 to upgrade a second hand home to the standard of a new build. The HBF also believes that there are a number of misconceptions about new build homes. With 34% of people polled saying they have never visited a new build or a show home and a further 18% saying they hadn't for at least 10 years, it points out that the industry faces a huge challenge engaging with the public to explain the many benefits of today's modern, high quality new build homes. Some 84% of 18 to 34 year olds that don't already own their own home aspire to do so and when buying a new home, the most important factors house hunters consider are price and location, both cited by 80%. However a greater proportion of younger house hunters, some 67% of 18 to 24 year olds, take into consideration the running costs of a property, compared to 55% across all age groups. The main obstacles for first time buyers trying to get on to the property ladder are saving for a deposit at 73%, property prices at 69% and getting a mortgage at 53%. Similarly, the main put-offs to buying a home for everyone is the deposit for 72%… Continue reading
Demand for prime property in central London slows after stamp duty change
Demand for property in London's most prestigious locations has fallen a few weeks after a new stamp duty charge of 3% was introduced on buy to let and second homes, new research shows. Property demand in the prime central London sector is at just 10% on average, having fallen 23% since the new surcharge was introduced, according to the PCL index from fixed fee estate agent eMoov. It is now at its lowest since the firm began recording its data over a year ago in the index which records the change in supply and demand for property above £1 million across London's most prestigious areas, by monitoring the total number of properties sold in comparison to those on sale. On the run up to the stamp duty deadline eMoov found that the rush to complete had revived the capital's top end market, with demand bucking the prime central London’s downward spiral and increasing for the first time since May last year. However, it seems that this resurrection was short lived as just one month since stamp duty deadline day, demand has plummeted to its lowest level on record. In fact, just one area across the prime central London market has maintained March's upward trend of demand growth. Fitzrovia is the only locations where demand hasn't dropped or remained static since March. Year on year the area is joined by Belsize Park, Maida Vale, Primrose Hill, Holland Park and Marylebone as the only other areas to have seen a positive movement in property demand since May last year. Where current demand levels are concerned, Islington is the most in demand area at present, with demand at 21% followed by Belsize Park at 19%, Chiswick at 18%, Maida Vale at 16% and Notting Hill at 12%. At the other end, at 4%, St Johns Wood and Mayfair are not only the coldest spots in prime central London but are suffering from some of the lowest demand levels recorded. ‘It's now abundantly clear that the brief resurrection of London's prime central London market witnessed in March, was an artificial skew as many scrambled to complete a sale before April's stamp duty deadline,’ said eMoov chief executive officer Russell Quirk. ‘It seems the extra 3% levy has slowed London's top end market and this will inevitably lead to further, sizable reductions in property values,’ he added, and pointed out that other potential threats include the UK voting to leave the European Union, economic slowing in countries like Russia and China and low oil prices. Continue reading
UK launches first register in the world for foreign property owners
Foreign companies already owning or buying property in the UK will have to reveal who the real owner is under new transparency rules being introduced by the government. The details will have to be disclosed in a public register, the first of its kind anywhere in the world, as part of Prime Minister David Cameron’s plan to clamp down on foreign money being ‘hidden’ in the UK. It means that for the first time, foreign companies that already hold or want to buy property in the UK will be forced to reveal the details of who really owns them and no longer be able to hide behind a company vehicle. It will include companies who already own property in the UK, not just those wishing to buy. Foreign companies own around 100,000 properties in England and Wales and over 44,000 of these are in London. ‘The new register for foreign companies will mean corrupt individuals and countries will no longer be able to move, launder and hide illicit funds through London’s property market, and will not benefit from our public funds,’ said Cameron. He added that he would like to reverse the burden of proof so that someone suspected of using stolen money to buy property can be forced to prove they accumulated their wealth legitimately or they would face having the property taken away from them by a court. France, the Netherlands, Nigeria and Afghanistan are set to follow the UK’s lead and commit introduce public registers of true company ownership, while Australia, New Zealand, Jordan, Indonesia, Ireland and Georgia have agreed to take the initial steps towards making similar arrangements. The UK’s public register will be launched next month. However, details of how the measure will be implemented or whether there would be penalties for non-compliance have not yet been published. Transparency International, the global group that fights against corruption in all walks of life, said the register was a bold step towards making it much harder for corrupt individuals to hide their money in UK real estate. ‘We strongly welcome the UK initiative to require full transparency of the companies who currently own or will purchase property in the UK, helping to close the door to corrupt cash,’ said Jose Ugaz, chair of Transparency International. ‘We welcome the fact that other countries also intend to shore up their own property markets so they don’t open the door to corrupt cash from overseas,’ Ugaz added. According to international real estate firm Knight Frank less than 2% of residential property in London is owned by offshore companies. The firm’s head of London research, Tom Bill, believes that the move means that offshore trusts and companies will reassess their property holdings following the announcement of the ownership register, and some may decide to sell. ‘However, there is unlikely to be a wave of properties coming to the market. Offshore structures typically own other assets beyond property and evaluating how to manage a portfolio will… Continue reading
