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Australian office leasing market growth led by New South Wales
The New South Wales office leasing market is leading the way in the Australian commercial market in the first half of 2015, with almost twice as much office space leased year on year. There has been a 13% increase in the number of leasing deals done nationally in 2015, compared to the first half of 2014, according to figures from Colliers International. The amount of space leased is up 22% from 198,360 square meters last year to 241,551 square meter this year, led by New South Wales with 112, 937 square meters leased year to date, compared to 64,629 in the first half of 2014. Cameron Williams, Colliers International National Director of Office Leasing, said there was increased traction nationally at the larger end of the market. ‘This is in contrast to 2014 enquiry data, which is a reflection of what we are seeing on the ground. Larger firms are driving demand for office accommodation in 2015 compared to 2014, when we saw smaller space in strong demand,’ he said. ‘Our enquiry data for the second quarter of 2015 also shows a significant shift in the industries searching for office space,’ he added. The research also reveals that in 2014 the government sector dominated as they put large requirements into the market. However, moving into the second half of 2015 it is business services, communications and finance that are catching up and dominating both in enquiry levels and leasing deals being negotiated. Businesses searching for substantial office accommodation were driving demand across key office CBD markets, with the business services, communications and finance sectors accounting for the lion’s share of enquiries. Overall, enquiries for office space nationally increased by 31% from the second quarter of 2014 compared to the second quarter of 2015 for office space in the 1,000 square meters to the 3,000 square meters category. Sydney in particular saw an increase in this category, with a 25% rise in demand from the first quarter of 2015 with 51,003 square meters to 63,650 square meters in the second quarter. Williams said activity was increasing in the Sydney CBD office market, particularly in the last quarter. ‘The big change has been growth. The tenants that are in the market at the moment are predominantly growth driven,’ he explained. ‘The growth in the market is mostly being driven by technology companies and finance. At the smaller end of the market there has been a lot of activity from Asian investment companies that have a preference to be located in Sydney’s midtown,’ he said. ‘This growth is naturally having a positive impact on net absorption and lessors are becoming more confident,’ he added. Continue reading
Almost half of UK renters will never get on the property ladder, poll suggests
Some 44% of renters in the UK believe they will never own their own home with not being able to afford a deposit the most common reason for not getting on the property ladder. Just 2% of renters plan on getting on the property ladder this year, according to an independent survey for construction and regeneration company Keepmoat. The average house price in England and Wales now stands at £178,000, according to the latest Land Registry figures, although significant regional variations exist. The average price of property in the capital is currently £462,799. Despite houses in the North generally being more affordable, non-homeowners in Liverpool at 62% were the most likely to say they never expect to purchase a property. This was followed by 60% in both Newcastle and Glasgow and 41% in London. Not being able to afford a deposit was by far the most common reason for not getting on the property ladder, cited by 56% of respondents. The pressure of saving a deposit was also the top concern for those hoping to buy a home at 58%, with 61% of this group saying they will be saving their own deposit. Some 38% of home owners polled said it took between two and five years to save for a deposit although it took 13% of those polled up to 10 years to save their deposit. The research also suggests low awareness of the government’s Help to Buy scheme, an initiative that helps people take their first steps on the property ladder. Less than one in three prospective buyers polled said they will be using the scheme, with 38% claiming they don’t know what the scheme is. ‘It’s clear that the amount of money first time buyers need to raise for a deposit continues to stop many from getting on the property ladder. However, we were surprised that the results show Londoners are more confident about owning a home than those in other cities, particularly in the North,’ said Dave Sheridan, chief executive of Keepmoat. ‘There is plenty of assistance available for buyers in the form of the Help to Buy scheme and help is available when saving for a deposit with the Help to Buy ISA,’ he added. Continue reading
UK govt and mortgage industry to work to make home lending process more transparent
The UK government and the country’s mortgage industry have pledged to work together to make sure home lending is available for every stage of life from first time buyers to retirees. Following a meeting between the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, other government ministers and mortgage industry representatives, work is to be done to make lending more transparent. The meeting also discussed the measures that have already been taken to boost help for first time buyers such as Help to Buy and ISAs and how they can be taken forward. It comes at a time when advice given by lenders to borrowers has been found to be mixed in the aftermath of changes brought in last year. In particular there has been criticism of the new questionnaire that all applicants have to fill in so that lenders can ascertain that they can afford repayments with instances of people not revealing all their spending plans for fear of being rejected. A lot of older people and self-employed have also found it harder to get a mortgage. The Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Harriett Baldwin, revealed that since 2010 some 2.8 million mortgages have been advanced, worth a total of £444.5 billion, and by backing the government’s flagship Help to Buy schemes, the industry has helped nearly 100,000 people get onto or move up the housing ladder. ‘The government’s Help to Buy ISA which is due to launch later in the year will get young people on to the housing ladder, while our work on supporting lending to older people will make sure the mortgage market delivers for those who have worked hard all their life,’ she said. We are pleased that the real effect which the mortgage market can have on people’s lives is recognised within government. We take the industry’s responsibilities to borrowers very seriously,’ said Paul Smee, director general of the CML. ‘We hope the improvements we are making to the transparency of fees and charges will help make it easier for people to understand mortgage costs more easily, and will support the many benefits that a wide choice of mortgages brings to consumers,’ he added. Meanwhile, the CML is working with its members, who make up over 90% of lending business for homes in the UK, to improve the advice given to mortgage clients after a review by the financial watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said that there is room for improvement. Smee pointed out that lenders have had a huge workload implementing comprehensive rule changes in April last year as a result of the mortgage market review (MMR). ‘Those changes have been introduced with little disruption for consumers or to the market more generally. But there was more to be done to refine the ways in which firms operate,’ he said. The FCA found that the quality of advice in the mortgage market was mixed. Some firms were engaging customers in focused and relevant discussions, leading to suitable recommendations based on… Continue reading
