Tag Archives: tsi
Buy to let rush boosted rental supply in the UK, especially London
The buy to let rush in the UK ahead of stamp duty changes in April boosted rental supply with London seeing the biggest increase, a new analysis report shows. The rental market received a boost of 8% more new properties advertised to rent in the second quarter of the year compared to the same quarter in 2015, according to the data from property portal Rightmove. The majority of new properties were in London, up by 22% on the same period last year, resulting in a small drop in the region’s average asking rental price to just under £2,000 per month. Despite the increase in supply, all other regions recorded a rise in average asking rents this quarter, with the East of England’s 5% annual change leading the way. The data also shows that rental enquiries were up 2% in the second quarter 2016 compared to last year, and up 1% in the two weeks after the referendum compared to same two weeks in 2015, as the lettings market shows no immediate signs of a Brexit impact. The supply boost failed to stop rents rising 2.8% in the second quarter outside London in England and Wales, though this is only 0.1% higher than the rise in the second quarter of 2015. The East of England’s year on year increase of 5% was the highest of all regions, while the South East saw rents increase the most over the quarter, up by 5.1%. London saw the biggest increase in supply this quarter compared to any other region with growth of 22%, resulting in a fall in average asking rents by 1.1% to just under £2,000 per month. ‘The big spike in March transactions resulting from a large number of investors beating the more punitive stamp duty tax deadline has created a rental supply boost which is good news for prospective tenants actively looking for a new place to live,’ said Rightmove’s head of lettings Sam Mitchell. ‘Now that the stamp duty changes have come in this boost may be short-lived, as landlords consider whether or not to make further purchases. Our own research among landlords shows that just under a third of them are concerned that the stamp duty changes, plus the forthcoming tax relief changes, will potentially wipe out their profits,’ he explained. ‘Once the tax relief changes start to be phased in from next year new buy to let activity could slow further. However rental demand is still outstripping supply in many areas of the country so we may see a shift by investors to look in areas that offer better yields for long term property investments,’ he added. The report suggests that investors planning to continue expanding their portfolio could look to some of the areas with highest demand from prospective tenants. The top five places include Ashton-Under-Lyne, Stalybridge and Oldham in Greater Manchester where average asking rents for two bedroom properties are around £520 per month and you can buy a two bed… Continue reading
UK house prices up 1.8% in second quarter of 2016, but stagnant in London
UK house prices increased by 1.8% during the second quarter of 2016 and were up 8.5% compared to the same period a year earlier, according to the latest quarterly index data. This took the typical price of a standardised UK property to a record of £215,582 from £211,868 in the first quarter of 2016, the Halifax House Price Index administered by market shows. The data also shows that London house prices have increased more than double the UK average and nearly four times greater than in Northern Ireland despite stagnating in the second quarter of the year while prices in Scotland and Wales fell. Also, the annual increase of 8.5% during the second quarter was the lowest recorded since the third quarter of 2015 but house prices have now risen on a quarterly basis for 15 successive quarters, and prices are also up some 36.6% since the height of the financial crisis in the spring of 2009. But overall, considerable regional variations in terms of both house price inflation and standard house price levels continued into the second quarter of 2016. London, followed by the South East, remain by far the most expensive areas to purchase housing, with the average house price in the capital currently pushing close to £450,000. With the lowest prices in Northern Ireland at £119,000, the gap between the most expensive and cheapest regions is at a new record of just under £330,000. That said, in a sign that April’s stamp duty changes have perhaps taken some heat out of the London market, prices were unchanged in the second quarter following a 7.2% rise in the previous quarter, although they remained well up on a year earlier at 14.6%. Along with the South East with growth of 13.9%, house price inflation in London was the strongest seen in the UK. Outside of these two regions, no others recorded double digit house price rises with most registering considerable slowdowns compared to the previous quarter. In Scotland prices fell 1.6% and were down by 0.6% in Wales while the rate of growth in Northern Ireland fell sharply to just 3.5%. Moreover, house prices in Northern Ireland are still some 48% down on their peak seen in the second quarter of 2007. Indeed, in Wales prices remain close to 10% down on pre-financial crisis levels and Scotland some 6.4% down. Other regions currently recording house price levels below pre-financial crisis highs include the North down 6.9% and the North West down 2.5%. ‘The UK housing market showed signs of cooling in the spring, with the annual rate of inflation slowing to 8.5%. Although average prices moved 1.8% higher than the first quarter, only six of the 12 UK regions saw house prices rise in the three months to June, with prices falling in five regions and stagnating in London,’ said Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit. ‘This is the first time that prices have failed to rise in London since late 2012. The… Continue reading
Falling asking prices in Spain could encourage British buyers despite Brexit
There are signs that British buyers are still keen on buying property in Spain but those selling are likely to be more successful if they lower their asking price. Agents are reporting continued interest in the Spanish property market from British buyers despite the decision to leave the European Union. This is coming from holiday home buyers and those considering moving to Spain to live. But the latest index suggests that sellers in Spain are having to be realistic about the price their property is likely to achieve outside a few popular areas. Data from the latest asking price index from Idealista shows they fell national by 3.1% in June year on year. Month on month asking prices fell 1.4% to their lowest level since the economic downturn despite rising briefly at the beginning of the year. But there are substantial regional differences. Whist the national average index continues to fall, some areas are already recovering. Idealista point out that prices in some big cities and areas on the coast have risen substantially since bottoming out, led by Barcelona with growth of 19.5%, Madrid up 6.4% and Valencia up 6.1%. There is effectively a two speed recovery in the Spanish market, according to Fernando Encinar, head of research at Idealista. He explained that prices continue to fall in inland locations but rise in popular coastal spots such as the Costa del Sol and cities such as Madrid and Barcelona. On a quarterly basis asking prices rose the most in the second quarter of the year in Malaga with an increase of 1.5%, up by 0.8% in the Costa Blanca and up 0.8% also in Tenerife and the Canary Islands. Real estate agents believe this could attract more foreign buyers. Lucas Fox International said it has seen a rise in enquiries from British based buyers since the vote to leave the European Union. Some disillusioned with the referendum result and considering a move to Spain, in particular to the key cities of Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia, where there are job opportunities and the local economy is rapidly recovering. A report last week claimed that the number of British citizens looking to move abroad had increased by 30% with Spain being the third most sought-after destination after Australia and Canada. Another study by the London School of Economics suggested that around 10% of 18 to 25 year olds who voted to stay in the EU are now considering a move abroad. An example is Sebastian King, a 22 year old living in the South of England working in financial services. He contacted Lucas Fox just a few days after the result. ‘I have been looking to move to Valencia for a year or so now but the Brexit result made me want to get a move on,’ he said. ‘For me Valencia has it all, the climate, it's exciting, full of history and culture as well as having a beach. Overall, I think Spain has lots of… Continue reading
