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Prime London property market sees strong buyer and letting activity at start of 2016
New buyer registrations and tenancy agreements in the prime London residential market have soared from last January, with buyers and renters particularly looking for one bedroom homes. The number of new buyers registering in January 2016 was 24% higher than in the same month in 2015 like for like, according to the latest London property monitor report from estate agents Marsh & Parson. Outer prime London areas are experiencing the highest New Year demand from interested buyers, with Barnes and Bishops Park seeing among the strongest rises in the number of buyers registering locally to buy property, the details also show. However, this sudden surge in demand for Prime London properties is contrasting with a continued shortage of housing stock in the capital. The supply of homes in prime London fell 12% year on year in the last three months of 2015. This has led to intense competition to own a home in the capital, with 13 buyers for every property in prime London at the end of last year. ‘The New Year always tends to bring a resurgence in purchase activity but the figures we’re currently seeing are strong. Private buyers, landlords and other investors are rushing to secure their preferred property before the 01 April Stamp Duty hike,’ said Peter Rollings, chief executive officer of Marsh & Parsons. In the lettings market, increased demand has led to a burst of January activity. The number of tenancies agreed in the first two weeks of 2016 was up 44% compared to the same period in January 2015 on a like for like basis. Prime Central London in particular enjoyed solid lettings growth, as agreed tenancies surged by 91%. The central zone is expected to see faster rental activity in 2016 than it did last year, when a slowdown in corporate lettings resulted in cooler annual rental growth of 0.6%. Meanwhile, outer prime London saw steadier expansion in tenancy agreements of 23% in January 2016 year on year. One bedroom properties are the main drivers of this strong growth in lettings activity and property demand, according to the report. These smaller homes have seen the biggest rise in value of any property type in prime London over the past year, with average prices increasing 3.1% between the fourth quarter of 2014 and the same quarter of 2015, equating to a real term rise in value of £18,417. By contrast, average prime London property prices saw only a 1.7% increase over the same period, across all property types. The typical rental value of one bed lets across prime London has risen by 6% over the course of 2015 from £392 to £415 per week compared to an average of 1.9% across all property types. Within the prime central area, one bedroom lets experienced even faster growth of 7%. ‘Prime London lettings activity has seen strident start of year growth, especially in the prime central area. This can… Continue reading
Land Registry fraud line helps thousand protect their homes
The UK’s Land Registry’s fraud line has helped thousands to protect their home ownership against property fraudsters in its first three years. Nearly 3,000 calls and emails have been received as people become more aware of the risk of someone stealing their identity in order to sell or take out a mortgage on their home before disappearing with the money. ‘Since we launched our property fraud line property owners have become more aware of the risk. We urge home owners to follow our advice to reduce their risk of falling victim to property fraud,’ said Alasdair Lewis, director of Legal Services at the Land Registry. ‘Whilst no system can eradicate fraud completely, since September 2009 we have stopped 199 fraudulent applications on properties worth around £82 million,’ added Lewis. The properties most vulnerable to property fraud are usually empty, tenanted or mortgage-free. Individuals at a higher risk of fraud include owners who do not live in the property because they live abroad, buy to let landlords, people in long term hospital or residential care or where a relationship has broken down. Lewis gave an example of a recent case. Penny Hastings called Land Registry’s property fraud line after becoming suspicious that someone had fraudulently sold a property which she owned and rented out. It turned out the tenant was part of a fraud ring. Once he’d rented Penny’s house using a false identity, he and an accomplice put the house on the market. The accomplice was a lady who had changed her name to Penelope Hastings by deed poll and then secured a passport in that name. ‘The Land Registry did not register the sale as we suspected a fraud. This meant that Penny Hastings still maintains the legal ownership of the property. Unfortunately, an unwitting buyer paid £1.35 million for the property. The police are currently investigating the fraud,’ said Lewis. The property fraud line was launched in February 2013 for owners to quickly alert Land Registry if they are concerned their property might be subject to a fraudulent sale or mortgage. It forms part of Land Registry’s ongoing fraud prevention and detection techniques to safeguard people’s registered properties. Callers can speak to specially trained staff for practical guidance about what to do next. The telephone number is 0300 006 7030 and the line is open from 8.30am to 5pm Monday to Home owners can protect their property by signing up for the Land Registry’s free Property Alert service to receive an email alert when there is certain activity on the monitored property such as an application to register a new mortgage. People can then judge whether the activity is suspicious and seek further advice if necessary. Lewis pointed out that those who become an innocent victim of fraud and suffer a financial loss as a consequence may be compensated. If your property isn’t registered then no compensation is payable. There can be up to three addresses on the register including an… Continue reading
Aberdeen property market showing signs of moving again
The property market in and around Aberdeen, which has been hit by the fall in oil price, is showing encouraging signs of activity according to latest figures from an independent property consultancy. The report from CKD Galbraith reveals that its regional office in Cults has been successful in bringing more properties to the market in Aberdeenshire as well as reducing the average time taken to sell a property by almost three weeks. CKD Galbraith’s Aberdeen statistics from the final quarter of 2015 show that the supply of properties coming onto the market increased by 50% quarter on quarter. They also shows that the average time taken to sell a property was down by 32.75%, almost three weeks, compared to the previous quarter of 2015. ‘The Aberdeenshire property market has continued to show positive results throughout the final quarter of 2015 despite the downturn in the oil and gas industry in Aberdeen. We have been greatly encouraged by the increase in the number of properties coming onto the market and there has been a healthy appetite from buyers viewing properties,’ said Hannah Christiansen, head of residential at CKD Galbraith’s Aberdeen office. ‘Good properties at the lower end of the market continue to sell well, with good viewing levels and strong offers whilst the higher end of the market does continue to move, albeit its taking slightly longer. People are still moving home in Aberdeen and excellent property, in both city and rural locations, continue to be in demand,’ she explained. ‘The industry wide figures for sales in Aberdeen over the previous quarter have been down across the industry, as reported by the latest Registers of Scotland figures. However, we have witnessed a strong start to the year and as we enter the prime Spring selling period we are confident the market will see healthy activity with a flurry of properties for sale prior to the introduction of the 3% levy on second homes coming into place in April,’ she added. The latest Registers of Scotland index report covering the final quarter of 2015 showed that the total volume of residential property sales in Scotland increased by 14.5% compared with the same period in the previous year. The average property price in the quarter was £167,734 an increase of 1.6% compared to the previous year. Continue reading
