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Asking prices rise across the UK apart from in London
Asking prices increased in all parts of the UK except London, up 0.5% month on month, according to the latest property index to be published. The East of England saw the largest monthly rise of 1% as demand continues to outweigh supply in the region but overall the annual home price for England and Wales fell to 7.5%, the data from the Home.co.uk index shows. The report suggests that typical time on Market figures in the East of England, the South East and Greater London are contrary to seasonal expectations, and this is a clear indicator that the anticipated slowdown is taking hold as demand dips, at least for the time being, while the market pauses for breath. The total stock of property for sale remains historically very low indeed despite gradually rising supply in London and Scotland. In all English regions outside of London and in Wales, scarcity holds firm as the key market driver. Overall, the number of properties entering the UK market is down 6% compared to a year ago. The supply shortage is most keenly felt in the West Midlands where 12% less new stock arrived on estate agents' books during last month compared to March 2015, and this will ensure prices in this region keep rising over the summer months. Similarly, the South West of England supply shortage is worsening as indicated by 11% less stock being registered on agent portfolios last month. The index report point out that market activity in the formerly lacklustre North East shows signs of significant improvement. There and in the North West, marketing times have reduced considerably and prices are on the rise. The North West market is improving more quickly as supply levels in this region indicate a new declining trend and consequently prices may show further significant upward progress across the rest of the year. Meanwhile, the Welsh property market remains the poorest performer. Prices there have fallen by 0.2% over the last six months and marketing times are higher than in any English region or Scotland. ‘Overall, the current mix-adjusted average asking price for England and Wales is now 7.5% higher than it was in April 2015, and we predict further rises over the next few months due to worsening supply in an increasing number of regions. However, the year on year rise is expected to attenuate as the London market cools,’ said Doug Shephard, the firm’s director. He explained that a buy to let stampede ahead of the new stamp duty charges means that growth might now slow. ‘Any sort of lull in demand from investors will be welcomed by first and next time buyers, especially those who had the wisdom to sit on their hands until the dust settled,’ he said. ‘The current figures suggest that London will be the best area to take advantage of waning demand and rising supply, but prices today remain very high and properties will need to hang around on the market much… Continue reading
Spanish home sales continue their upward trend with prices also showing signs of recovery
Home sales in Spain have recorded their highest figure for three years having increased by 15.8% in February compared to the same month in 2015. The data from the National Statistics Institute is further evidence that the housing market recovery remains underway after a stutter in January saw transactions fall 2.9% after 16 months in a row of growth. It would appear that the recovery is being led by existing homes rather than new builds. Sales of existing homes increased 21.4% year on year while sales of new homes fell by 0.2%. The data also shows that in the first two months of 2016, home sales increased by 6% compared to the same period in 2015 and again this growth was led by existing homes which saw a rise of 13.7% compared to new home sales falling 15.5% in this period. Andalucía saw the largest number of sales followed by Catalonia, Madrid and Valencia. The lowest number of sales were recorded in La Rioja, Navarre and Cantabria. In relative terms, all of Spain’s regions registered increases in home sales, except for La Rioja and Castilla y León with falls of 8.6% and 3.9%, respectively. The regions where housing transactions increased most were the Basque Country with growth of 50.3%, Asturias up 40% and Cantabria up 38.9%. Meanwhile, data from the latest house price index from property portal Fotocasa shows that the price of existing homes increased by 0.5% in the first quarter of the year to an average of €1,627 per square meter. This seems to confirm that the housing market recovery is now being seen in terms of price growth as it is the first quarterly rise for the first quarter of any year since 2007 when prices increased by 1.6%. On top of this a trend is emerging as the Fotocasa index also recorded quarterly price increases in the second and third quarters of 2015 of 1.1% and 0.7%, respectively. The data also shows a year on year price rise of 0.6% for existing homes in March, the highest annual increase since October 2007, when prices rose by 1.2%. Again, a trend is emerging. Year on year prices increases were recorded in 2015 in July, October and November at 0.1%, 0.1% and 0.3% respectively. Since the peak of the Spanish property market in April 2007 when prices averaged €2,952 per square meter, they have fallen by 44.9% so there is some way to go before values catch up but the initial signs of improvement are there. Quarter on quarter the picture is also positive with eight regions seeing increased prices compared to the last quarter of 2015. This was led by the Canary Islands with growth of 6.3%, the Balearic Islands up 2.2%, Valencia up 1.4%, Andalucía up 1.2%, Madrid up 1%, Catalonia up 0.9%, Navarre up 0.2% and Cantabria up 0.1%. The most expensive house prices are in the Basque Country at €2,736 per square meter, followed by Madrid at €2,225 and Catalonia… Continue reading
Call for next mayor of London to form policy that will meet chronic housing shortage
The organisation that represents house builders in the UK has issued a blueprint for London’s future housing supply which hopes that politicians in the city will take it on board when forming policy. The Home Builders Federation (HBF) says that its 10 point blueprint, Capitalising on Growth, should be taken into account by this year’s candidate in the London mayoral election when declaring their policies for housing in the city which is desperately short of new homes. Current London mayor Boris Johnson is regarded as having done a lot to boost housing supply and put in place a number of measures to continue his vision but he is not standing for mayor this time. The HBF wants the candidates to adopt 'tangible, workable and realistic' policies to deliver the increases in housing supply and build on the significant increases in the number of new homes being built over the last two years. The document includes recommendations that the next mayor of London ensures sites are viable and deliverable by introducing realistic levels of affordable housing and supporting the delivery of specialist private rented housing. It also calls on the next mayor to make better use of and improve London's existing estates while working with authorities in the wider South East to create a strategic approach to delivering homes that can support London's growth. The blueprint says that the mayor neds to act as a hub to coordinate efforts by all the public bodies with land holdings in London so that more land actually comes forward for house building and it calls for more underused commercial spaces to be turned into homes. ‘We welcome the very vocal commitments of candidates to increase housing supply in London. We now need to see realistic, workable policies to be developed that will allow these homes to be built,’ said HBF executive chairman Stewart Baseley. ‘If London is to maintain its status as the world's capital city and keep on powering the national economy, it must continue to attract people, businesses and investment. The capital's chronic housing shortage and resultant affordability crisis now threatens London's status as a global powerhouse and can only be solved by a sustained increase in supply,’ he explained. ‘In just two years, housing supply has increased by over 25% but we are still only delivering around half the number of homes needed. We need to maintain a strong investment environment for developers, keep sites deliverable and ensure that planning resources are in place so that builders can obtain planning permission and get on site as quickly as possible,’ he added. Continue reading
