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Female property professionals in UK still paid less than men
Salaries for UK property professionals have continued to rise at an average increase of 7.1% in 2016 but there is still a gender pay gap, according to the latest survey, with men earning £7,000 a year more than women. The survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and Macdonald & Company shows that male property professionals earn £57,509 a year compared to their female counterparts on £45,689. It means that the gender pay gap has closed slightly from 27% last year to 25.9% in 2016, the discrepancy is evident across all age groups and is most acute for those aged 18 to 22 where the difference in average salary is 28.7%. The report also says that competition for talent continues with the average salary increase awarded to respondents who moved employer in the last year reached 16.2%, while the average increase received by respondents under 30 jumped by 12%. Bonuses awarded to entry level candidates jumped by 79% this year and employees at this level are also most likely to move job and of those who indicated they are likely to look to change roles this year 35% are relatively inexperienced, compared to 19% last year. ‘The fact that 64% of respondents reported a rise in salary will offer cold comfort to the many women in the sector, especially those at entry level, who are once again confronted with a significant gender pay gap. The industry must urgently take action to create a more balanced workforce that attracts the best talent if it wants to remain competitive,’ said RICS equalities manager Justine Wallis-Leggett. ‘We can achieve this by introducing inclusive working practices such as flexible working. These are key to employee engagement, and in an increasingly competitive market, employers cannot afford to create working environments that only serve the needs of a small majority of the workforce,’ she added. She pointed out that RICS has launched an Inclusive Employer Quality Mark which asks employers to put inclusivity at the heart of what they do, and aims to support them in sharing best practice. ‘We would urge all firms to put their money where their mouth is by signing up. Until there is a true commitment to change within the sector, we will continue to see results like these and the subsequent drift of talent away from our sector,’ Wallis-Leggett explained. Looking at the picture across the UK, those working in greater London continue to earn, on average, the most at £65,050 and command a premium of 20.8% over the South East and 52.2% over Ireland. The majority of the rest of the UK have indicated only a slight growth in average annual salaries, with the greatest growth seen in Scotland with a rise of 2% and the Midlands up 1%. RICS qualifications continue to show their merit with a FRICS earning £69,885 in comparison to a non RICS counterpart at £43,905, while those with… Continue reading
Buying is cheaper than renting across most of the UK, new research shows
People looking for their first home in the UK are better off buying than renting with the gap more than doubling over the last five years, new research shows. Indeed, first time buyers are on average £865 or 10% a year better off with their own home compared to those who rent, according to the research by Lloyds Bank. The South East of England is the only region where renting is the cheaper option with average monthly buying costs at £965, some £65 higher than average monthly rental costs of £900. The calculations show that the average monthly buying cost, including mortgage payments, associated with a first time buyer purchasing a three bedroom house stood at £672 in December 2015, some £72 or 10% lower than the typical monthly rent of £744 paid on the same property type. This represents an increase of £105 over the past year compared with the annual saving associated with buying a home instead of renting of £760 in 2014. The difference has grown as average monthly rents have increased more steeply by £24 or 3% compared to a £15 or 2% increase in monthly buying costs. The current financial gap between buying and renting of £865 is more than double the annual saving of £397 in 2010. Over this period, the average rent has grown by 23% or £139 a month from £605 whilst average buying costs have increased by 17% or £100 a month from £572. The research report says that buying has consistently been the cheaper option since 2009, when the average monthly payment was £561 for renting compared with £575 for buying. While buying is more expensive in the South East, the data shows that buying is most affordable compared to renting in cash terms in the North West, where the typical first time buyer is paying £133 a month less than the average renter at £525 against £658. The next most affordable is Scotland where a buyer pays £525 against £645, a saving of £120, and then Wales at £471 against £574, a saving of £103. The number of first-time buyers is estimated to have totalled 310,000 in 2015, largely unchanged from 311,700 in 2014. This represents an increase of 60% since the number of first time buyers fell to a recent low of 193,700 in 2011. The number of first time buyers accounted for 46% of all house purchases made with a mortgage in 2015. This share has grown from 36% at the start of the housing downturn in 2007. ‘We’ve seen a significant shift over the past five years, with people consistently paying less on average per month when owning their property as opposed to renting. In 2015 this gap widened by over £100 to an annual saving of £865,’ said Mike Songer, mortgage director at Lloyds Bank. ‘This has been helped by record low mortgage rates and rising private rents, making owning a home a much more attractive proposition than renting,’… Continue reading
UK buyers choose renovation properties to try to save money, research suggests
Some 35% of home owners in the UK who bought a property that needed renovation had to as it was the only way that could afford to buy a home, according to new research. Some 8% bought a home needing renovation but found that in reality they could not afford to do the work and 10% ended up living on a ‘building site’ for a year or more before starting the work. The research from price comparison site Confused.com also found that for those who persevere the hard work can be worth it 19% made a profit of between £25,000 and £50,000 from a successful renovation project. The sale prices of properties that need renovation are normally much lower than the prevailing market price in that particular locality. On average, home owners who have bought a renovation property have saved themselves £44,037. Home renovators are paying on average £152,792 for a property that needed some work done to it, compared to the average UK house price which is valued at £196, 829. Some 38% admitted to buying a property that needed some work as it saved them thousands of pounds compared to buying a home that needed no work. In fact, 40% of home owners admit they would buy a property that needed renovation if it saved them money. On average, home owners spent £33,089 on doing up their properties with 12% spending more than £50,000 renovating their home. Some 62% did work on the kitchen and 61% on the bathroom. However, renovating a property can often be more expensive than first anticipated with 45% of home owners saying they spent more than intended, with many spending £2,886 over their budget. Indeed, some 26% ended up going over their budget by more than £5,000 and 22% said that they would never buy a renovation project again. And the research also found that 41% who have carried out renovation work on their property have not let their insurer know. ‘As house prices seem to be continuing to rise, it would appear that more and more people are resorting to buying properties that need renovation. Deciding to renovate a property is a big decision and often more expensive than first anticipated,’ said Gareth Lane, head of home insurance at the firm. Continue reading
