Taylor Scott International News
Households across the UK perceive that the value of their home rose in April, but it was a slight decline compared to the previous month. It indicates that households perceive the rate of house price growth has slowed marginally, according to the House Price Sentiment Index (HPSI) from Knight Frank and Markit Economics. ‘Slightly weaker house price sentiment follows a period of healthy market activity between January and March which was in part promoted by purchasers trying to complete purchases ahead of the April introduction of the extra 3% stamp duty on additional homes,’ said Gráinne Gilmore, head of UK residential research at Knight Frank. ‘Activity across the market may now become more muted, and in addition, the debate around the EU Referendum may convince some buyers to adopt a wait and see approach, although the UK’s position in the European Union will not affect one of the key fundamentals in the market, an undersupply of new homes being built and existing homes for sale when compared to demand,’ she explained. The future HPSI, which measures what households think will happen to the value of their property over the next year, also slipped back in April compared to the previous month. Gilmore pointed out that while still indicating that households across the UK expect the value of their home to rise over the next 12 months, this is the lowest reading recorded by the index so far this year. Sentiment on future house price growth was lower in nine of the eleven regions covered by the index month on month, with the biggest fall in sentiment occurring in the East of England. Tim Moore, senior economist at Markit, believes that after a strong start to the year, UK property market conditions appear slightly more subdued in April, especially in relation to households’ expectations for price growth. ‘While perceptions of current price growth are still firmer than at any time in 2015, expectations for the next 12 months moderated in April and were among the lowest recorded over the past three years,’ he said. ‘This divergence between relatively brisk current price momentum and softer expectations ahead in part reflects heightened uncertainty about the near term economic outlook. Moreover, the latest survey highlights another brake on the number of UK households intending to purchase a property over the next two years, with this index down appreciably from its peak in February 2015,’ he added. The details of the index shows that some 5% of UK households said they planned to buy a property in the next 12 months, down from 5.5% in December. On a slightly longer term basis, the proportion of households across the UK planning to buy a property within the next two years was 10.8%, the lowest proportion since the index began in April 2014. The survey suggests that demand for property from households in London will be amongst the strongest across the country within this time, with 15.6% of households there indicating their intention… Taylor Scott International
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