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Oxford prime property market outperforms rest of UK
Rising demand from international buyers and others from London relocating to Oxford has contributed to price growth in the city’s prime property market, new research shows. Oxford is a key city outside of London and attracts people because of its internationally renowned university and research from real estate firm Knight Frank shows that last year it outperformed both the wider prime property market in the UK and in the South East. Prices increased by 1.8% between October and December 2014, taking the annual rise in values in the city to 6.1%. Demand for homes valued between £1 million and £2 million was especially strong. Knight Frank says that a key driver of Oxford’s property market performance has been demand for homes from buyers from outside of the city. Indeed, the proportion of property buyers from outside Oxford more than doubled in 2014 compared to the previous year, accounting for 52% of all Knight Frank sales in the city last year, compared to just 24% in 2013. Demand from Londoners relocating to Oxford rose significantly year on year, from 3% to 18%, with many such buyers looking to take advantage of the relative price difference that currently exists between house prices in the capital and in Oxford. The proportion of international buyers in the city also rose to 17% in 2014, up from 11% the previous year. Access to top performing schools, strong local employment, as well as improving transport links into London, including a new rail line between Oxford and London Marylebone which is due to open this summer , have helped boost high levels of demand in Oxford, according to the report. The number of potential new buyers registering their interest in purchasing a new home was 18% higher last year than 2013 and the number of property viewings in the city was 8% higher over the same time. ‘All of this helped contribute to an increase in the number of sales completed by Knight Frank in Oxford in 2014, with the total number of transactions last year 22% higher than in 2013 and 41% higher than in 2012,’ said Oliver Knight of the firm’s residential research team. ‘The market for properties valued between £1 million and £2 million is especially strong and accounted for nearly 50% of all sales in 2014, compared to 41% in 2013,’ he added. Continue reading
UK landlords report lowest void periods in 2014
The average void period experienced by UK landlords fell in 2014 with the lowest recorded in the fourth quarter of the year, down to 2.6 weeks, the latest sector survey shows. This was down from 2.8 weeks in the fourth quarter of 2013 and void periods have now not risen beyond 3.5 weeks over the past 13 years, according to the quarterly survey from specialist buy to let lender Paragon Mortgages. The first quarter of the year saw the average void period remain at 2.8 weeks then it dropped slightly to 2.7 weeks in the second quarter and returned to 2.8 weeks in the third quarter before falling again in the final three months of the year. Void periods have remained low over the period of the survey, averaging between 2.6 and 3 weeks since 2001. The lowest recorded void period was 2.5 weeks in the fourth quarter of 2002, and the highest at 3.5 weeks in the second quarter of 2010, which was during the peak of the financial crisis. ‘Although void periods have fluctuated slightly over the past year they have continued to remain low, peaking at 2.8 weeks,’ said John Heron, managing director of Paragon Mortgages. ‘It is encouraging to see that in the fourth quarter of 2014 void periods reduced to the lowest point recorded since 2012, only slightly above the lowest average void period reported by our research at 2.5 weeks,’ he pointed out. ‘The low average void periods we have seen over the past year, and in previous years, reflects the strong and growing demand we have seen for private rented property together with effective property management by landlords and letting agents in renting out properties,’ he added. ‘This is positive news for landlords and, as tenant demand continues to rise, it is possible that void periods may decrease even further in 2015,’ he concluded. Continue reading
UK year on year house price growth down in first few weeks of 2015
Annual house price growth in the UK continued to moderate at the start of 2015 with the latest housing index showing it slowed to 6.8% in January compared to 7.2% in December 2014. However, the data from the Nationwide Building Society also shows that month on month prices increased by 0.3%, taking the average price to £188,446. ‘After taking account of seasonal factors, UK house prices are currently 2.4% above their pre-crisis peak. The further moderation in the pace of price growth is unsurprising, given the slowdown in housing market activity in recent months,’ said Robert Gardner, Nationwide's chief economist. He pointed out that the number of mortgages approved for house purchase has been around 20% below the level prevailing at the start of 2014 and surveyors continue to report subdued levels of new buyer enquiries. However, he added that the reasons for the slowdown in activity remain unclear. ‘Unemployment has continued to decline and wage growth has started to outstrip increases in the cost of living for the first time since the financial crisis. Surveys suggest that consumer confidence remains elevated, a view corroborated by healthy gains in retail sales over recent months,’ explained Gardner. ‘Although house price growth continues to outpace income growth by a significant margin, affordability does not appear stretched at a national level. The cost of servicing a typical mortgage remains close to the long run average as a share of take home pay, in part thanks to the ultra-low level of mortgage rates,’ he added. Gardner also explained that the supply side developments are crucial in determining the pace of price growth. ‘Surveyors continue to report a dearth of new homes coming on to the market, which may help to explain why house price growth has remained fairly robust, despite a more noticeable decline in housing demand since the summer,’ he said. ‘If the economic backdrop continues to improve as we and most forecasters expect, activity in the housing market is likely to regain momentum in the months ahead,’ he added. He also said that it is encouraging that the number of new homes built in England was up 8% in the year to the third quarter of 2014. ‘However, this is still 34% below pre-crisis levels and little over half the expected rate of household formation in the years ahead,’ he concluded. Continue reading
