Tag Archives: sales
Non home owners in the UK despair at lack of affordable housing to buy
British house hunters feel increasingly disenfranchised by the lack of affordable housing, new research has found. The latest official figures show that population growth in the UK has exceeded 400,000 and with only 134,460 new properties completed over the same one year period there aren’t enough new homes being built to meet that demand, let alone tackle the backlog of years of underdevelopment. Against this backdrop, research from Gocompare.com Mortgages has revealed the effect that the gap between housing supply and buyer demand is having on people’s attitudes to home ownership. It has found that the lack of affordable housing in the UK has resulted in people taking a dim-view of their prospects of getting onto the property ladder. Of those looking to buy a home some 26% feel that the UK is becoming a two tier society of property haves and have nots and 23% expect only be able to buy a home if they buy with someone else. Though 18% say that the government is responsible for the shortage of affordable homes, 14% think that buy to let landlords are to blame, and 17% don’t think that they will ever own their own home. Some 12% said that it angers them that they can’t afford to buy a house in the neighbourhood where they grew up and 10% think that the only way they’ll end up owning a property is if they’re left one in a will. It also appears that people could be forced to move around the country to put down roots. Over a quarter, 29%, of would be home buyers said that they’d have to stretch themselves financially or borrow money from friends or family to find properties in the areas where they want to live. As such 20% say that they have had to expand their search to towns and cities outside of their preferred area, while 14% have come to the realisation that if they want to live in their chosen region they’ll have to rent. And 6% are so fed up that they have completely given up looking for a home to buy. Those surveyed said they would consider moving, on average, up to 26 miles away from their preferred location to find an affordable home and 21% would expand their search to between 26 and 50 miles, while 5% would look for housing more than 101 miles away. ‘It’s easy to see why people feel so frustrated with the UK’s housing market. Not only are there not enough houses being built, but people face having to move away from their friends, families and home towns if they want to buy a home of their own,’ said Matt Sanders, spokesperson for Gocompare.com Mortgages. ‘It’s clear that the government needs to do more to help address the lack of affordable housing if people are to take part in that most British of pursuits, owning a home. Everyone has a right to buy, but not everyone has the ability to do so. Schemes like… Continue reading
New home sales pick up in Australia, but peak of growth has passed
Sales of new homes in Australia increased in August following a weak July but an overall downward trend in total seasonally adjusted new home sales is still apparent, the latest data shows. There was an increase of 3.3% in August driven primarily by a strong increase in the usually volatile multi-unit sector, the new home sales report from the Housing Industry Association shows. However the report, which covers Australia’s largest volume builders, says that despite the August bounce, the HIA still believes that new home sales reached their peak for the cycle back in April this year.” ‘The result for August was driven primarily by a strong lift the multi units sector where sales increased by 19.8%, taking this component of sales to its second highest level this cycle,’ said HIA economist Diwa Hopkins. She pointed out that new detached house sales didn’t fare quite so well, up by only 0.5% although this slight rise stopped a decline which stretched to three consecutive months. ‘As leading indicators of new home construction activity, both HIA New Home Sales and ABS Building Approvals are displaying a moderate downward trend. Current levels remain elevated by a historical standard, which is consistent with still healthy levels of new home building throughout 2014/2015,’ she explained. ‘It is important for the new home building sector and the broader domestic economy that we continue to see evidence of historically high levels of building approvals and new home sales throughout 2014 and into next year, even if the peak for these indicators has passed,’ she added. A breakdown of the figures show that detached house sales increased by 11.1% in New South Wales and by 2% in Western Australia but fell by 6.8% in South Australia, by 6% in Victoria and by 0.7% in Queensland. Over the three months to August 2014 detached house sales decreased in each of the surveyed states, albeit to varying degrees, with the exception of New South Wales where sales increased by 0.4%. Sales fell by 9.8% in Victoria, by 4.6% in Western Australia, by 4.4% in South Australia, and by 3.2% in Queensland. Continue reading
Prime central London rental values up for seventh month in a row
Rental values in prime central London rose for the seventh consecutive month in September, though at a slower rate than in recent months, the latest index shows. An increase of 0.2% took annual growth to 1.6%, which is the highest rate in two and a half years as the rental market in prime central London continues to recover, according to an analysis from real estate firm Knight Frank. The recovery, which began at the start of the year, comes as the UK economy returns to health after the financial crisis. Last month, the Office for National Statistics said the country’s economy was 2.7% larger in the second quarter of the year compared to its pre-crisis peak. It also revised its second-quarter growth figure higher to 0.9%. Similarly, the rental value index is fast approaching the pre-Lehman Brothers peak recorded in March 2008. Rental values fell before rising in 2011 to exceed that peak due to a supply squeeze but had been in decline since September 2011 until the start of this year due to the fragile UK economy. The number of new prospective tenants in September was 22% higher than the same month last year and the total for the first nine months of the year was 19% higher than the same period in 2013. Meanwhile, the high number of new tenancies agreed by Knight Frank in September meant the total in the first nine months of the year was 48% higher than 2013 while the number of tenancies commenced was up 55% over the same period. However. Tom Bill, head of London residential research at Knight Frank, the rentals market will also benefit as the uncertainty of next May’s general election dampens demand to some degree in the sales market. ‘While there is no marked trend of vendors deciding to become landlords and buyers becoming tenants, it is happening to some degree and there are increasing instances of properties being marketed to both the sales and rentals market,’ he said. He pointed out that annual growth for rental values in the £1,500 per week and above category was 1.9% while it was 0.9% for properties below that figure. Rental yields also continued their recovery in September, rising from 2.82% to 2.84%. ‘It is not high by historical standards but it was the largest monthly increase in more than three years,’ added Bill. Continue reading
