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New research reveals lack of affordable homes in London
With the average price for a property in London now exceeding £500,000 new research shows that just 46% of home listed matches this price or less. The analysis from fixed fee estate agent eMoov examined current stock levels across all of the major portals, recording the total levels listed for each London borough, before comparing this to the level of stock listed for £550,000 or less. The research then took the total stock under £550,000 and recorded it as a percentage of the total level of stock across the capital. The worst location for affordability was Kensington and Chelsea with just 6% of properties for sale at £550,000 or less, followed by Westminster at 7%, Hammersmith and Fulham at 14%, Camden also at 14%, Wandsworth at 22% and Islington at 25%. A further 13 of London’s boroughs had just 50% or less of its stock listed for the average price of £550,000 or under. The boroughs that did offer more for those with a budget of half a million were Hounslow at 57%, Bromley at 61%, Waltham Forest at 64%, Enfield at 65%, Hillingdon at 65%, Lewisham at 66%, Redbridge at 72%, Greenwich at 72%, Newham at 78%, Croydon and Sutton both at 79%, Havering at 84%, Bexley at 91% and Barking and Dagenham at 97%. ‘It’s no surprise to anyone that the majority of London is unobtainable to many from a property point of view. However, this research highlights just how out of reach the capital actually is for UK home buyers, even for those with the sizable budget of £550,000,’ said eMoov chief executive officer Russell Quirk. ‘For many the average house price is a benchmark, a mile stone, on just what they need to have in the bank to live in a certain area. But this average price masks the true cost of living in the capital or even where in the capital you can live for that matter,’ he pointed out. ‘When you consider that even with that sort of healthy budget, you would have to restrict your property search by removing more than half of the properties currently for sale in the capital, it really highlights how little £550,000 can get you in the London market,’ he added. Continue reading
Home lending in Wales up year on year but down on quarterly basis
Lending to home owners in Wales increased by 25% year on year in the first quarter of 2016, according to the latest data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). On an unadjusted basis home owners borrowed £850 million, but while this was up 29% year on year it was down 16% quarter on quarter. They took out 6,600 loans, down 16% on the previous quarter but up 25% compared to the first quarter of 2015. First time buyers borrowed £330 million, down 20% on the fourth quarter 2015 but up 22% on the same period last year. This totalled 3,000 loans, down 19% quarter on quarter but up 20% year on year. The average age of a first time buyer is now 29 years old. Home movers borrowed £530 million, down 12% on the fourth quarter 2015 but up 36% compared to a year ago. This totalled 3,600 loans, down 14% quarter on quarter but up 29% year on year. Remortgage activity totalled £420 million, down 2% quarter four but up 20% compared to a year ago. This came to 3,700 loans, down 3% quarter on quarter but up 12% year on year. ‘The first quarter of the year typically sees a seasonal lending dip, but the year on year growth in activity in all lending types is encouraging,’ said Julie Ann Haines, CML Cymru chair. ‘It was the best first quarter performance for all lending types in Wales since 2007 and suggests a growth period for the market. With affordability improving this quarter, supported by a generally favourable economic backdrop, we would expect further growth in lending as we go into the summer months,’ she added. The CML report points out that while seasonal factors generally cause activity to be lower this period, this is the highest number of loans and the most borrowed for house purchase in the first quarter of the year since 2007. This was also the case for first time buyer, home mover and remortgage activity. Affordability metrics for first time buyers improved in the first quarter of 2016 compared to the fourth quarter of 2015. The amount borrowed went from £106,000 to £104,625 and the average household income of a first-time buyers went from 32,615 to 33,092 meaning income multiple in Wales from 3.30 to 3.22. The amount home movers borrowed went from £128,795 to £130,000 and the average household income of a home movers went from 46,818 to 47,500 meaning income multiple in Wales from 2.83 to 2.85. The amount first time buyers are spending of their monthly gross income to service capital and interest repayments was 17.2%, which was the lowest level since the CML began tracking this metric in 2005. Home movers are also paying close to record low proportions of income at 16.9%, unchanged from the fourth quarter 2015 and just off the lowest since we began tracking this metric in 2005 of 16.8% in the third quarter of 2013. Continue reading
Monaco has the second most expensive ultra prime property in the world
Ahead of the Formula One annual Grand Prix in Monaco new research shows that the price of ultra prime property per square metre is the second most expensive in the world with only Hong Kong more costly. Last year was a strong one for Monaco with a total of €2.25 billion sales with new builds making up just 7% of total sales but 20% of total sales value. The data from Savills World Research also shows that prime two bedroom apartments on the Grand Prix track are nearly nine times the cost of comparable properties on the Singapore race track and if the track was measured as dwelling floor space, it would be worth €3 billion The report points out that Monaco is a small market and average prices are prone to fluctuation depending on the sample of properties sold in any one year. In 2015 the average resale price in Monaco stood at €3.5 milion, down 4.8% on the previous year, while the median price at €2.1 million was up 5%. The long term median price trend shows consistent growth, averaging 5.8% per annum since 2010. ‘Monaco continues to be an exceptionally attractive location for the global wealthy and has all the key ingredients for real estate price growth’ the report says. ‘A very strong local economy employs more people than can be physically accommodated within the Principality. High demand for both residential and commercial space meets with slow supply in an extremely land limited area,’ it explains. This means that Monaco remains one of the most expensive destinations for ultra prime property in the world only Hong Kong tops it at €109,800 per square meter compared to Monaco’s €90,900 per square meter. The report points out that while Monaco’s residential property market may be very valuable it is also very small. Transaction numbers topped only 547 in 2015, but even then this represented less than 4% of private housing stock numbers in Monaco. On average, since 2006, less than 3% of private stock has traded each year. This means the average Monegasque property changes hands only once every 37 years compared to prime London where properties trade nearer once every 20 years. In the re-sale market, which accounted for 93% of deals, 509 sales were recorded. This was 8% down on 2014 volumes but still 11% above 2007 levels. The very upper tiers of the market are the most liquid and total euro volumes stand 67% above their 2008 peak. Land constrains means that Monaco is taking innovative approaches to urban development. Project Portier, a reclamations project agreed in 2015 and scheduled to complete by 2025, will add a further six hectares of land. ‘Monaco is expanding and rebuilding to remain relevant to modern-day occupier demands. The Principality’s dual status as business destination and recreation centre, coupled with safe haven credentials, will continue to underpin its appeal,’ said Paul Tostevin, associate director, Savills World… Continue reading
