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Peripheral areas in prime central London market set to help prices rise by 3% in 2016
Peripheral areas in central London such as Shoreditch, Kings Cross, Battersea and Shepherds Bush could be the new engine room of the London prime property market in 2016, it is suggested. These locations are likely to contribute to anticipated price growth of around 3% across prime London, according to an outlook analysis from boutique search agent Banda Property. It also suggests that strong competition among British home buyers for middle level housing in the £1million to £2 million price bracket will focus on outer central areas which offer quality flats and family houses with gardens, good schools, transport links and village amenities. Overall, the prime central London market is set to benefit from a surge in demand for investment properties early in the year as buy to let investors and second home buyers rush to beat the April deadline and avoid the new additional 3% stamp duty, the report explains. However, the firm expects that the numbers of new foreign buyers entering the market from Russia, the Middle East and Asia will be smaller than in 2015, as a result of higher costs and unfavourable exchange rates. But despite the Chancellor sending a negative message to investors with further stamp duty increases, Britain is still regarded as the best in Europe if not the world for real estate investment thanks to its tolerant and secure society, stable economy, transparent financial and legal systems and world class education ensuring it remains an attractive option for internationals seeking somewhere to live. ‘If the effects of the last stamp duty rise are anything to go by, we may well see a surge in activity as second home buyers and investors try to close before April. This will temper potential annual capital growth to the relatively moderate level of 3% overall and value will become more important than ever,’ said Louisa Brodie, head of search and acquisitions at Banda Property. ‘I’m confident that the London property market is resilient, as demonstrated this year, when despite hugely negative press and challenging regulation changes, the market has slowed but still remains an attractive proposition to buyers with a long term view,’ she explained. ‘British homebuyers will dominate in 2016, buying up good value properties in the peripheral ring around the prime locations. They are broadening their horizons beyond the obvious areas such as Chelsea and Belgravia, looking instead to places such as Battersea, Kings Cross and Clerkenwell as well as Shepherds Bush and Ealing in the west, in order to secure more square footage for their money,’ she pointed out. ‘With the key sections of Crossrail coming into operation by 2018, we will see particularly strong growth along the corridors of operation in the coming year,’ she added. Continue reading
Call for UK property sales to be more transparent to get rid of dodge foreign investors
The UK Government is being urged to launch a promised policy to make ownership of property in the UK fully transparent and deliver on its plan to make sure there is no laundered money going into the real estate market. With more buyers from countries like Russia, China and the Middle East looking to invest in property in London there have been concerns that unscrupulous buyers could be using property to hide their wealth and assets. In July the Government committed to tackling corrupt money in UK property, but so far it has not published plans or a timeline for their consultation on providing more transparency over foreign and offshore ownership of UK property. Now the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) and Transparency International are calling for the consultation to get underway as quickly as possible. Mark Hayward, NAEA managing director, said that a recent documentary From Russia with Cash demonstrated that there is still not absolute clarity in relation to anti-money laundering among those in the property sector, despite the very clear legislation in place and regular training and updates from within the industry. ‘It is now time to step up the level of scrutiny that the sector comes under to ensure that a small minority of agents do not support criminal activity and those that do are appropriately sanctioned,’ he added. Continue reading
Property sales in Spain reach three year high
Residential property sales in Spain increased in May to their highest level for three years, according to the latest official figures. But there is an ongoing collapse in new home sales, the data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE) shows. Overall there were 26,455 homes sale in May, up 5% on last year and 11% on the year before that. But a breakdown of the figures shows that the increase came from the resale market, up 34% over 12 months, whilst new home sales fell 42% to just over 6,000. According to Mark Stucklin, of Spanish Property Insight the overall picture is one of a recovery in demand for property in all areas where foreigners tend to buy, but with the market hamstring being a lack of attractive new homes for sale. However this could be about to change. Demand is growing for new homes in Marbella, for example and developers are building again. Land is in high demand and for the first time in almost a decade residential, commercial and tourism projects are under construction and market sentiment is increasingly positive, according to Pia Arrieta, partner at DM Properties Knight Frank Marbella. ‘Genuine interest in good value, good quality, well located plots of land is on the increase. Land prices in Spain climbed 5.2% during the last quarter of 2014 and sales increased significantly compared with the same period in 2013,’ said Arrieta. Arrieta explained that the strong pound is encouraging UK buyers who are considering a broader range of investments, but northern Europeans, particularly those from Scandinavia, the Benelux nations, Germany and Russia are also ranking highly among those choosing to build their dream homes on the Costa del Sol. ‘The demand for land stems from a growing appetite amongst end users’ for turnkey, contemporary products with the latest gadgets and luxuries. Competitive construction costs and the decline in land prices in recent years has spurred developers on,’ she pointed out. ‘Marbella’s accessibility along with continuing investment in the town such as its new boardwalk and the increasing number of top rated restaurants are also encouraging new development,’ she added. According to Knight Frank’s head of sales in Spain Christian de Meillac this upturn in demand has also been replicated in registration figures. ‘In the first half of 2015 Knight Frank has seen a 65% increase in new applicants registering their interest in Marbella compared with the same period last year,’ he said. ‘Buyers are seeing value again. Prices have come down, the exchange rate is favourable and buyers are seeing long term growth potential,’ he added. Continue reading
