Tag Archives: sales
UK regional cities see prices surge, led by Liverpool and Bristol
Regional cities in the UK, led by Liverpool and Bristol, have seen house prices surge, helped by rising number of investor buyers, the latest cities index shows. The 20 city index from Hometrack shows that overall prices have increased by 4.4% quarter on quarter and 11.2% year on year, taking the average price to £237,500. Liverpool has seen the highest growth in the last quarter and Bristol has the fastest annual growth rate. Prices in Liverpool were up 5.4% quarter on quarter and 6.5% year on year while in Bristol they increased 4.2% quarter on quarter and 14.1% year on year. London has also seen strong year on year growth with an annual rise of 13.8% with quarter on quarter growth of 3.7%. Cambridge and Southampton also recorded large annual rises at 13.4% and 10.3% respectively. Quarter on quarter the prices growth has been led by Edinburgh, Belfast and Aberdeen with a rise of 19%, 16% and 12% respectively while Aberdeen, which has been affected by the fall in oil prices is the only city in the index to have seen prices fall, down 4% quarter on quarter and 9.6% year on year. But there is likely to be some affect from the referendum result that the UK should leave the European Union and the Hometrack index report says that it will impact turnover far more than house prices in near term although it predicts a rapid deceleration of house price growth across all cities in the second half of 2016. ‘The city level impact is hard to gauge but we expect the immediate impact to be felt in London where affordability levels are stretched and the market was already facing headwinds,’ it explained. Overall, the report says that price inflation continued to increase in May, building on a strong first quarter and the surge of investor demand ahead of the stamp duty change for additional homes that came into force in April. Year on year growth is running at 11.2% compared to 6.2% twelve months ago. ‘The immediate and short term impact of the EU referendum result will be widespread uncertainty amongst buyers and sellers across the housing market. This is against a backdrop of already subdued turnover. While sales volumes have recovered from their 2009 lows, sales as a percentage of stock remain low by historic standards at around 5%, or a move every 20 years,’ the index report points out. However, Hometrack does not expect house price falls as the greatest impact will be on market activity. ‘House price falls would require forced sellers, driven by higher mortgage rates and/or rising unemployment. While short term turmoil in financial markets will impact market sentiment, it is too early to say how the vote to leave will impact the real economy,’ the report explains. It adds that tighter lending criteria implemented in recent years will help to mitigate the impact on the more recent entrants to the market and levels of new housing… Continue reading
Survey suggests UK property owners carry out work to create their dream home
British home owners renovate their property for living in for the long term with the majority not doing so to increase the price, new research suggests. Some 67% are planning to stay in their home for over five years and carry out work with the aim of creating their dream home, according to the research by Zopa with kitchens the top target for change. The survey, of over 1,200 people who had taken a Zopa home improvement loan, found that 27% either have had or plan to get their home revalued after renovations, and only 9% said they would need to move to be in their ideal home. So far in 2016, Zopa customers have borrowed over £50 million to improve their homes, a 54% increase on home improvement loans compared to the same period last year. Some 34% used their home improvement loan to revamp their kitchens and, of those who said their homes are not yet perfect, 19% cited a bigger kitchen as top of their wish list. After renovations two out of five people say they are now in their perfect home. Of those who still don’t think their property is perfect, 22% said they would need to move. The most commonly cited areas for improvement were better decoration at 31%, bigger kitchens at 19% and more bedrooms also at 19%. The research also found that the majority, 73%, used professionals to complete their home improvements, with 45% using skilled professionals for the entire job while 13% undertook all the renovations themselves and the same number sourced help from family and friends. Some 77% said they’d be happy to do painting, with 51% ready to take on wallpapering and 32% happy to complete tiling but people were least confident when it came to masonry work at just 6%, bricklaying at 7% and plastering at 10%. The survey also found that 4.2% were considering moving to unlock the increased property value with 98% agreeing that their renovations have added value to their home. Some 27% believed the increase to be worth between £11,416 and £19,027, adding between 6% and 10% to the price while 19.4% said it would be an increase of between £20,930 and £28,541, a 11% to 15% rise in value and 11.4% expected to see an increase in value of over 21%. Continue reading
UK sees highest gross home lending for May since 2008
Gross mortgage lending in the UK reached £18.2 billion in May, some 4% higher than April’s £17.6 billion and 14% higher than May 2015, the latest data shows. The figure from the Council of Mortgage Lenders, which represents the vast majority of home lenders in the UK, was the highest May figure since 2008 when gross lending reached £23.7 billion. CML senior economist Mohammad Jamei pointed out that, as expected, lending continued to be somewhat dampened in May, reflecting the earlier rush in the first quarter to beat the stamp duty change on second properties. ‘Looking ahead, there is likely to be considerable uncertainty as a result of the European Union referendum decision. We expect this to affect sentiment and reduce activity below levels that would otherwise be expected in the near term, as both buyers and sellers adopt a wait and see attitude until the dust begins to settle,’ he explained. ‘Market fundamentals underpinning house prices still look sound, and we do not expect significant house price falls, especially given the current supply demand imbalance,’ he added. According to Adam Tyler, chief executive officer of the National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers (NACFB), a wait and see attitude and increased caution is likely among buyers and sellers alike due to the referendum result. ‘Our own view mirrors that of the Council of Mortgage Lenders in that market fundamentals still look sound and the sharp imbalance between supply and demand will prevent a material decline in prices,’ he said. ‘Sentiment may have shifted dramatically over the past few days but the structural imbalance between supply and demand is as strong as ever. Demand naturally tapered off in the buy to let sector following the stamp duty surcharge but it may experience a bounce after Friday's referendum result,’ he explained. He also pointed out that current market, political and economic volatility could benefit buy to let as investors once again look to bricks and mortar as a safe investment and the fact that Bank Rate is now more likely to go down than up in the near term will provide further support to the property market. ‘Understandably, there's a lot of hysteria surrounding the trajectory of the property market but our own view is that the reality will prove to be relatively benign,’ he added. Continue reading
