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Men are from Mars, women from Venus, housing style poll finds
When it comes to relationships it is well known that men and woman have very different ideas but now research suggests they also have different priorities when it comes to choosing a home. When it came to buying their dream home some 14% of men wanted a cinema/screening room and 12% wanted a wine cellar. In contrast, 24% of women rated an AGA oven and 18% wanted a kitchen island, according to research from real estate firm Strutt & Parker. The top ideals when it comes to moving from women were being near a good schools, access to shops and amenities, a short commute to work and wanting more space as well as being close to family and friends, the poll of buyers, sellers and tenants also found. But men’s top list for reasons for moving home were tax changes, retirement, pension support, a smaller home, the political environment and mobile telephone coverage. While both sexes agreed that a traditional British home was what they wanted, certain styles scored much more highly with women than men including a loft style, simple Scandinavian, classical French and exotic Indian. On the other hand, 1950s/60s/70s retro was preferred by men. Men preferred stark, grand, imposing and cool characters for their home while women were more attractive to a quirky, creative, calm and relaxing ambiences. When it comes to outside space, men are far more interested in living on or near water than women, and homes with sporting facilities such as a gym, pool and tennis were also more popular with men, although more women were keen on equestrian amenities. When looking at a managed apartment block or unit, men tended to be far keener on convenience and practical amenities. Having a porter or doorman, in-house cleaning services, car sharing, banquet services and refrigeration drop off storage were all far more popular with male respondents. For females, it was important that pets were allowed and disabled accessibility was also a priority. Environmental features appeared to be of more importance to men than they were to women. Code Level 5 ratings, renewable energy, living walls, grey/potable water and green roofs were all markedly more popular with male respondents. ‘Our overall analysis points towards elements such as broadband connectivity and access to amenities being very important for buyers. However, men and women appear to have a slightly different interpretation on what these might mean,’ said Stephanie McMahon, head of research at Strutt & Parker. ‘When referring to private rental, for example, for men amenities and services might mean concierge services and grocery drop off, for women it might mean ability to bring pets and disabled accessibility,’ she explained. Continue reading
London borough of Kensington and Chelsea has most expensive homes in UK
Boroughs in London continue to dominate the UK’s list of most expensive places for property on a per square metre basis, led by Kensington and Chelsea, new research shows. However, there are pockets outside Southern England where property fetches a high price per square metre, including Altrincham in Cheshire, a number of towns in Warwickshire and the Scottish cities of Edinburgh and Aberdeen. Overall there has been a marked widening in property prices per square metre between southern England and the rest of Britain since 1995, according to the research from the Halifax. Indeed, prices per square metre have risen by 388% in Great London compared with a national increase of 227%. Kensington and Chelsea is Britain's most expensive area with an average price of £11,635 per square meter, nearly six times the national average of £2,033. The borough is the only area in Britain with an average price above £10,000 per square meter with Westminster having the next highest prices at £9,571. Some 16 areas, all in Greater London, have an average price in excess of £5,000 per square meter, four more than last year. Outside southern England, Altrincham in Cheshire remains the most expensive town with an average price of £2,446 per square meter and is followed by a cluster of towns in the West Midlands with Solihull at £2,367, Warwick at £2,363 and Leamington Spa at £2,353. The Scottish cities of Edinburgh at £2,297 and Aberdeen at £2,281 are the next most expensive areas outside southern England. Aberdare in south Wales has the lowest average price, at £910 per square meter. This is less than one tenth of the average price per square metre in Kensington and Chelsea and all 10 of the towns with the lowest prices per square metre are outside the south of England. Four of the ten towns with the lowest average price per square metre are in Scotland with Wishaw at £926, Airdrie at £998, Greenock at £1,004 and Coatbridge at £1,004. Three are in Wales with Merthyr Tydfil at £967 and Neath at £1,005 in addition to Aberdare. The three English towns with the lowest home prices on a per square metre basis are Accrington at £990, Scunthorpe at £1,022 and Blackpool at £1,052. The 10 areas recording the highest house price growth on a per square metre basis over the last five years are all London boroughs. Hackney at 71% recorded the biggest increase over the five year period closely followed by Southwark at 70%. Nationally, house prices per square metre have risen by 18% since 2010 from an average of £1,719 to £2,033 in 2015 with increases across all regions. Greater London has experienced substantially faster growth than elsewhere in Britain with an average increase of 45%. The South East at 22% recorded the next biggest rise. Price increases have been much more modest in many other parts of the country with the smallest rises in the North at 3%… Continue reading
UK flagship Help to Buy reaches 131 new home owners a day
The UK government’s flagship Help to Buy schemes have created 131 new home owners every day since April 2013, according to the latest figures to be released. Housing Minister Brandon Lewis said that the data shows Help to Buy is an important part of the government’s efforts to ensure anyone that works hard and aspires to own their own home has the opportunity to do so. Since the launch of the schemes, over 100,000 people have used the Help to Buy equity loan, mortgage guarantee and NewBuy schemes at a fraction of the deposit they would normally require. The data also shows that four out of the five of these were first time buyers and 94% of the sales were outside of London, alleviating concerns expressed at the launch of the schemes that they would not reach out to the most needy. Launched in 2013, the Help to Buy: equity loan and Help to Buy: mortgage guarantee schemes were set up to support people who could pay a mortgage, but struggle to save the deposits required by lenders following the financial crisis. The Help to Buy: NewBuy scheme offers 95% mortgages for those buying new build homes and the number of new home owners has reached 101,972. Overall since 2010, over 225,000 households have been helped to buy and reserve a new home through government-backed schemes. ‘The figures clearly show the continuing success of the Help to Buy scheme in supporting many credit worthy, hardworking people who want to buy their own home. Our long term economic plan has turned this country around from the one we inherited, now numbers of first time buyers are at their highest since 2007, house building continues to climb and over 225,000 households have been helped to buy or reserve property since 2010 through government backed schemes,’ said Lewis. According to Stewart Baseley, executive chairman of the Home Builders Federation, Help to Buy continues to drive demand for new homes, and its extension to 2020 is a huge boost. ‘That demand is being met by the house building industry which is increasing output at the highest rate for decades,’ he said. ‘With this support for buyers in place, house builders are planning greater investment in land, labour and supply chains to maintain and sustain this increased level of activity. Delivering more, high quality houses will provide the next generation with decent homes, create jobs and boost local economies across the country,’ he added. The data also shows that the average price of homes under the scheme is £213,954, well below the £271,000 UK average. The scheme has also brought down the average deposit needed. Some of the main towns and cities benefiting from the Help to Buy schemes include Leeds with 1,477 sales, Birmingham with 1,301 sales, Wiltshire with 1,242 sales, County Durham with 1,169 sales and Bedfordshire with 1,128 sales. The government has already announced the extension of the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme to 2020, to help… Continue reading
