Tag Archives: tsi
Buy to let demand keeping UK housing market buoyant say surveyors
The UK housing market saw an unseasonal rise in demand in December with anecdotal evidence suggesting this is due to an increase in buy to let investors. An extra 3% stamp duty levy due to come into force in April which will affect buy to let property and second homes could be behind the lift in demand, says the latest monthly residential report from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). It says that demand for properties reached a three month high in December and the month saw the first rise in new instructions since the beginning of 2015 with anecdotal evidence pointing to a jump in buy to let interest leading this demand. Since the Chancellor George Osborne announced the extra stamp duty levy in his Autumn Statement last November some 16% more chartered surveyors reported a rise in new buyer enquiries. ‘The housing market has experienced an unusually buoyant December. Those in the industry have been speculating that this is the result of the Chancellor’s announcement last November,’ said RICS chief economist Simon Rubinsohn. ‘Potential buy to let investors are looking to pick up properties before the increased stamp duty levy comes into force next April. If that is the case, then we can expect to see the housing market heating up further over the next few months,’ he explained. The belief that demand was fuelled by announcements included in the Autumn Statement was further supported by qualitative responses to the survey. ‘December was busier than normal as stamp duty changes have brought buyer back to the market, ahead of April,’ said chartered surveyor Robert Green of Chelsea based estate agent John D Wood & Co. While James McKillop of Knight Frank in London said: ‘The 3% Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) proposal in the Autumn Statement has led to more buyers firming up their intention to buy additional residences in my region before April 01’. The RICS report also says that house prices in London, the South East and East Anglia look set to rise by a further 5% per annum in each of the next five years, compared to a UK average of 4.5%, despite offering the poorest value for money in the UK. Some 62% of respondents said that homes in the South East were either expensive or very expensive given the relative benefits they offered, with 57% of contributors in the capital taking the same view. By way of contrast, 100% of Northern Irish respondents and 92% from the North of England believe that homes in their areas offer fair value for money. A net balance of 50% of respondents reported that UK house prices had risen since November, with East Anglia and the South East of England witnessing the strongest growth. Robert Grigg, managing director of Property Finance at Hampshire Trust Bank, said that the report highlights that 2015 was yet another year in which becoming a home owner was out of reach for many. ‘The government’s Help… Continue reading
£140 million to be spent on regenerating housing estates in the UK
Some of the UK’s most rundown housing estates will be replaced with attractive and safe homes with a new fund for regeneration projects, it has been announced. Prime Minister David Cameron released details of what he called a comprehensive approach to estate regeneration with the creation of a new £140 million fund. He said that the government will work with 100 housing estates across the country to either radically transform them or, in the worst cases, knock them down and replace them with high quality new homes. ‘Within these so-called sink estates, behind front doors, families build warm and welcoming homes. But step outside in the worst estates and you’re confronted by brutal high rise towers and dark alleyways that are a gift to criminals,’ Cameron explained. Secretary of State Greg Clark said that there is a belief that the worst estates offer huge potential to be revived so that they become thriving communities and places which people want to live and work in. ‘That’s why we’re so determined to kick-start work which will benefit the lives of thousands of people by providing high quality homes,’ he added. To help tackle the problem the nationwide strategy will be supported by a new Estate Regeneration Advisory Panel, which will be chaired by Lord Heseltine, the former Deputy Prime Minister who has long championed the regeneration of Britain’s inner cities. The Panel will report in detail by this year’s Autumn Statement. The Prime Minister’s announcement comes ahead of a report from property advisor Savills which will show the approach to regeneration could help catalyse the building of hundreds of thousands of new homes in London alone. ‘For decades, sink estates had been seen as something simply to be managed. It’s time to be more ambitious at every level. The mission here is nothing short of social turnaround, and with massive estate regeneration, tenants protected, and land unlocked for new housing all over Britain, I believe we can tear down anything that stands in our way,’ Cameron added. Yolande Barnes, Savills research director, explained that the research shows that housing estates can deliver more homes and be made into better neighbourhoods by re-integrating them into the wider street network and creating or repairing the streetscape. The British Property Federation (BPF) welcomed proposals and praised the Government for ensuring that binding guarantees will be put in place for tenants and homeowners, to ensure that that their right to a home is protected. ‘There are some very old council estates that are in need of regeneration, but that process must treat existing residents fairly,’ said Ian Fletcher, director of policy for real estate at the BPF. ‘The Government is therefore right to put some sorts of guarantees at the forefront of its policy and encourage a partnership approach. There are investors in our membership, pension funds and the like, who will be very interested in how they can contribute to those partnerships,’ he pointed out. ‘Communities need not only… Continue reading
Average prices in England and Wales up 6.6% year on year
Average house prices in England and Wales increased by 6.6% year on year to an average of £292,077, according to the latest index figures to be published. This means that the average house prices has increased by £17,963 since December 2014 but property values in central London fell by 8.7% on average during 2015, dragged down by higher stamp duty, the index report from Your Move and Reeds Rains shows. The annual price growth figures falls to 4.7% of London and the South East are excluded from the calculation and month on month prices increased by 0.6%. Outside of these top five central Boroughs, London prices increased by 11%, the biggest increase, followed by the East Midlands, driven by a 10.6% annual rise in Nottingham’s house prices. Where sales are concerned it was the strongest December for since 2006, with transactions up 7.1% year on year as buyers compete for fewer homes on the market. Richard Sexton, director of e.surv chartered surveyors, believes that the highest year on year house price growth for 10 months may prompt existing home owners to move up to the next rung of the property ladder in 2016, freeing up homes at the bottom for first time buyers. ‘The rise in property prices has been propelled so far by a sinking supply of houses coming onto the market, compared with increasing enquiries from potential buyers eager to clamber aboard the property ladder,’ he said. ‘If the current speed of house price growth continues into 2016, the value of the average home may soon pass the £300,000 watermark, having reached £250,000 in December 2013. Property price rises have certainly left the recession in their wake, with house prices passing the £200,000 milestone only in October 2005,’ he added. He also pointed out that prices are probably set to rise further during the first quarter of 2016 before the Government’s new house building programmes have a chance to boost the supply of property on the market. The data shows that in Kensington and Chelsea, London’s most expensive borough, prices fell by 14.2% year on year and Sexton explained that the tax changes announced in 2014’s Autumn Statement increasing the rate of stamp duty on homes worth over £1.5 million to 12% has had an effect. ‘While price increases in the central boroughs used to keep England and Wales’ house price growth afloat, since January they have been anchoring down the average price increases in London and the country overall,’ he said. ‘The reality is that there has been an undercurrent of growth in the rest of London, with values outside these top end boroughs rising by 11% year on year. The increase has been strongest in the cheaper boroughs, with Newham seeing 23.8% annual growth. But the overall price rise across the capital has been submerged by the top end, with the annual change in London standing at just 5.6%, below the UK average,’ he added. He also explained that the 8.1%… Continue reading
