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Call for next mayor of London to form policy that will meet chronic housing shortage
The organisation that represents house builders in the UK has issued a blueprint for London’s future housing supply which hopes that politicians in the city will take it on board when forming policy. The Home Builders Federation (HBF) says that its 10 point blueprint, Capitalising on Growth, should be taken into account by this year’s candidate in the London mayoral election when declaring their policies for housing in the city which is desperately short of new homes. Current London mayor Boris Johnson is regarded as having done a lot to boost housing supply and put in place a number of measures to continue his vision but he is not standing for mayor this time. The HBF wants the candidates to adopt 'tangible, workable and realistic' policies to deliver the increases in housing supply and build on the significant increases in the number of new homes being built over the last two years. The document includes recommendations that the next mayor of London ensures sites are viable and deliverable by introducing realistic levels of affordable housing and supporting the delivery of specialist private rented housing. It also calls on the next mayor to make better use of and improve London's existing estates while working with authorities in the wider South East to create a strategic approach to delivering homes that can support London's growth. The blueprint says that the mayor neds to act as a hub to coordinate efforts by all the public bodies with land holdings in London so that more land actually comes forward for house building and it calls for more underused commercial spaces to be turned into homes. ‘We welcome the very vocal commitments of candidates to increase housing supply in London. We now need to see realistic, workable policies to be developed that will allow these homes to be built,’ said HBF executive chairman Stewart Baseley. ‘If London is to maintain its status as the world's capital city and keep on powering the national economy, it must continue to attract people, businesses and investment. The capital's chronic housing shortage and resultant affordability crisis now threatens London's status as a global powerhouse and can only be solved by a sustained increase in supply,’ he explained. ‘In just two years, housing supply has increased by over 25% but we are still only delivering around half the number of homes needed. We need to maintain a strong investment environment for developers, keep sites deliverable and ensure that planning resources are in place so that builders can obtain planning permission and get on site as quickly as possible,’ he added. Continue reading
Residential rental prices falling in Australian capital cities
Weekly rents increased by a mere 0.2% in Australian capital cities in March but overall they are down 0.2% year on year, the latest rental index shows. In the last 12 months Melbourne recorded the biggest increase in rental rates at 2%, followed by Sydney at 1.4%, Canberra at 1.2% and Hobart at 0.3%. Rents fell by 11.5% in Darwin, by 8.4% in Perth, by 1% in Adelaide and by 0.7% in Brisbane. The March Rental Review from CoreLogic RP Data analysts also shows that house rents averaged $489 per week in March 2016 while unit rents were $469 per week. Over the past month, house rents have increased by 0.1% and unit rents by 0.4% and over the past three months, house rents rose 0.5% compared to a 0.9% rise in unit rents. The March results show that recent rental increases are likely to be seasonal which is further highlighted by the fact rents are lower over the year. Over the past 12 months, house rents were 0.5% lower while unit rents increased by 1.5%. ‘It is important to note that a much higher proportion of total unit stock is rented compared to housing stock. We have been tracking the annual change in capital city rents since 1996 and this is the first time we have seen rental rates falling,’ said research analyst Cameron Kusher. ‘The extra accommodation supply, as a result of the current building boom, along with the recent record high levels of investment purchasing is adding substantial new dwelling supply to the rental market at a time when the rate of population growth is slowing from quarter to quarter. Furthermore, wages are increasing at their slowest annual pace,’ he explained. He also pointed out that the results also highlight a swift easing in rental market conditions over the past year. ‘We’ve attributed this ease to a variety of influences such as falling real wages, excess rental supply in certain areas and lower rates of population growth which have impacted on demand for rental accommodation,’ said Kusher. He explained that with dwelling approvals recently at record highs, construction activity set to peak over the next 24 months and many new properties still to settle, the rental demand weakness is expected to persist. ‘In all probability, there won’t be much scope for landlords to lift rental rates given current conditions have given greater negotiation opportunities to those in rental situation,’ he added. While rental rates remain at record highs in Sydney and Melbourne, rents are lower than their previous peaks in all remaining capital cities. Rents in Brisbane are down 0.9% from peak, down 1.2% in Adelaide, down 12.8% in Perth, down 0.1% in Hobart, down 15.6% in Darwin and down 7.4% in Canberra. Continue reading
First time buyers boost UK housing market activity
The UK housing market has reported healthy growth in March, on the back of a surge in first time buyer activity, new research shows. There has been a lot of talk about buy to let buyers flooding the market to beat Aprils extra stamp duty deadline, but the latest figures from Connells Survey & Valuation show that first time buyer activity in March jumped 15% compared to March 2015 and 41% compared to February 2016. In March, the total number of valuations carried out rose 8% year on year and grew by 21% month on month and this was primarily due to the first time buyer sector posting strong monthly and annual growth figures. Indeed the figures show that there was a dip in buy to let activity in March. Corporate services director John Bagshaw believes first time buyers figures have been aided by an increased uptake of Government plans designed to assist the bottom of the market. ‘The Help to Buy scheme has become more widely recognized and used by those who need a little help getting the capital together to fund a mortgage for a first home. Equally, more first time buyers are taking advantage of special first time buyer discounts on certain properties, which has helped those on lower incomes step onto the ladder,’ he explained. Remortgagors and home movers have also seen a significant boost in valuation activity in March. Total remortgaging volumes were up 25% month on month and up 33% year on year. ‘Those seeking to move up the property ladder are making solid strides this month. With home values high and continuing to increase across all parts of the country, albeit at an uneven pace, many property owners may view it as a good time to either upscale to something bigger and better or downsize and enjoy the surplus capital,’ said Bagshaw. ‘The remortgaging sector has also enjoyed an energetic March. The rates of growth have come down somewhat from what we were seeing in previous months, as those looking to remortgage to fund a second home take a step back to re-assess and absorb the stamp duty changes,’ he pointed out. ‘But with the average mortgage rate still very low and no Bank of England rate rise on the horizon many are taking advantage of the bargain rates in order to release capital on their home or switch to a better mortgage deal,’ he added. The stamp duty changes, which became effective on 01 April impacted the buy to let market in March. Valuation activity in this sector dropped by 27% between February and March 2016, as well as dipping by 36% compared to the same month a year ago. ‘The buy to let market has endured a turbulent month but we expect this to be a short term tumble, with investors adopting the standard kneejerk reaction to legislative changes by proceeding cautiously. This is particularly true for a tax increase like the stamp duty… Continue reading
