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Research reveals extent of incorrect property listings in UK
When buying a home prospective sellers expect the details to be listed correctly but new research has found that 48% of houses in sale across the UK contain rooms that are listed incorrectly. The analysis of estate agent data also found that 36% of single bedrooms rooms are technically too small to be classed as such for anyone aged over 10 and 17% of double rooms are not big enough to be inhabited by two people. Liverpool has the most errors for single rooms with 69% listed not meeting size requirements as set out by the Housing Act 1985 which says that a child under the age of 10 can occupy a room which is less than 50 square feet because they are classed as ‘half a person’, however a single bedroom should have a floor space of between 50 and 70 square feet. Leeds has the most errors for double bedrooms with 14% listed as such not meeting the requirements that double bedrooms for two people should be at least 110 square feet. One property in the city even listed a 69 square foot room as a double bedroom. The city with the least errors is Edinburgh where just 3% if single rooms did not meet the requirement and 4% of double rooms. Estate agents in Manchester and Glasgow were also pretty accurate. The research also found that a further 6% of rooms across the UK are technically uninhabitable, containing rooms smaller than the 50 square feet legally required to be classified as a single bedroom. Estate agents in Sheffield are guiltiest of this, with 15% of single bedrooms rooms advertised being too small to be habitable. When looking at properties overall, estate agents in Bristol are the most inaccurate, as 66% of properties for sale in the city had at least one incorrectly listed bedroom. This is followed by Sheffield at 60%, Liverpool at 57% and Birmingham also at 57%. Estate agents in Edinburgh are by far the most honest overall with only 17% of properties in the Scottish capital containing incorrect room listings. ‘Anyone who has purchased a property knows the marketing literature can often be misleading, but it is concerning to see so many properties across the UK being marketed by estate agents as having single and double bedrooms which technically aren’t fit for purpose,’ said Nick Brabham, head of SELECT Premier Insurance which carried out the research. ‘We urge buyers to check the measurements of bedrooms before putting in an offer on a house; otherwise they may find their double bedroom barely has enough space for a bed. It’s easy to think a room looks big enough when there is no furniture in it so if in doubt, check against the official standards and let estate agents know that they are marketing it incorrectly,’ he added. Continue reading
Gross mortgage lending slows in UK post Brexit
Gross mortgage lending in the UK held steady in July and was an estimated £21.4 billion, similar to June but 1% lower than July last year. The data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) is the first full month since the country voted to leave the European Union and it is too soon to see how much of an impact Brexit is having. CML chief economist Bob Pannell explained that the subdued nature of property transactions and mortgage lending in July are consistent with a less positive backdrop for house purchase activity post-referendum. ‘The Bank of England expects stronger economic headwinds to build as we move into 2017, and the Monetary Policy Committee’s package of monetary policy measures represents a spirited effort to lean against these on a timely basis. The MPC has pencilled in a further cut in Bank Rate later this year, but aims to avoid negative interest rate territory,’ he said. ‘The Term Funding Scheme should boost market sentiment a little, by engineering broader cuts to rates for existing mortgage borrowers than would have been the case, but it is not clear how well the Bank’s actions will underpin borrower demand in a more adverse economic climate,’ he added. Steve Bolton, founder of Platinum Property Partners, pointed out that the buy to let market was particularly impacted and purchase activity in June had almost halved compared to a year ago but the buy to let remortgage activity has picked up year on year. ‘Landlords are well positioned to benefit from falling mortgage rates as a result of the recent base rate cut. A mortgage can often be one of the greatest costs for landlords, so swapping to a more affordable deal is well worth the effort,’ he said. ‘Landlords are now operating in an uncertain political and economic environment, and further legislative changes which will phase out the ability to treat mortgage interest payments as a legitimate business cost could lead to many leaving the market or being deterred from expanding their portfolio,’ he explained. ‘This could lead to rising rents for many tenants and less affordable housing provision in the Private Rented Sector. It will therefore be interesting to see how this will have a knock-on effect on mortgage lending,’ he pointed out. ‘However, investing in property has proven to give strong returns when done effectively. It is now more important than ever that amateur landlords ensure they manage their properties professionally to build a profitable long term investment,’ he added. According to John Goodall, chief executive officer of peer to peer platform Landbay, despite some Brexit uncertainty it is clear that the property market, and in turn the mortgage market, is built on strong foundations, so the outlook is optimistic. ‘The UK’s housing shortage will remain a pivotal political and social issue, so we should expect buyer demand and lending levels to bounce back later in the year as the dust settles. In the meantime, it’s… Continue reading
Manchester becomes key focus for commercial property investment
Office transactions in the UK’s third largest city increased by 8% in the first half of 2016 compared to the same period last year with Manchester becoming a key focus for commercial property investors. Transaction volumes in Manchester’s office investment market totalled £304 million in the first six months of the year, some 3% higher than the five year first half average of £295 million, according to international real estate advisor Savills. The firm’s latest Manchester Office Market Report says that overseas investors showed particularly strong demand for the city’s office assets, accounting for 70% of all transactions with deals worth £212 million. This is well above the long term first half average of 37%, according to Savills. Examples include the £115 million acquisition of 3 and 4 Piccadilly Place by US based Ares Management and the £85 million purchase of XYZ in Spinningfields by Germany’s Union Investment Real Estate. ‘The outcome of the European Union referendum is now sinking in and some office transactions will be inevitably be delayed or renegotiated as investors take stock. However, we expect the increased depth of overseas interest in Manchester to help stabilise the market as foreign buyers take advantage of the weaker sterling and reduced competition,’ said Peter Mallinder, investment director at Savills. Despite the lack of trophy letting deals recorded in the first half of 2016, Savills reports that office take up reached 415,257 square feet, in line with Manchester’s long term average and the third quarter started positively with law firm Freshfields committing to around 80,000 square feet at One New Bailey. A number of other key leasing deals including to Swinton Insurance at 101 Embankment are expected to complete in the third quarter, with take up for the full year reaching one million square feet. This follows a total of 1.3 million square feet in 2015. Savills highlights the diverse nature of Manchester’s office occupier base, which does not overly rely on the public sector or banking and finance, as one its key strengths. The TMT sector has shown particular growth in Manchester and accounted for 21% of all take up in the first half of 2016 with deals totalling 85,307 square feet compared to 17% of deals in the full year of 2015. In terms of size, more than 51% of office space let in the first half of the year was through deals below 5,000 square feet compared to a long term average of 32%, driven in part by the abundance of TMT firms and start-ups moving to the city. ‘Office take up in Manchester has been significantly in excess of the long term average in recent years, which puts the city in a good position going forward and activity levels since the referendum result are encouraging,’ said Richard Lowe, office agency director at Savills. He added that headline Grade A rents have risen from £28.50 per square foot in… Continue reading
