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Sales up almost 5% in Scotland but prices down
Property sales in Scotland increased by almost 5% year on year in the second quarter of 2016 but prices have fallen by 2.3% over the same period, according to the latest official data to be published. Sales were up 4.9% to 25,760, the data from the Registers of Scotland shows, the highest volume of sales for this quarter since 2008/2009 with the average property price down to £164,326. A breakdown of the figures show that the highest percentage rise in volume of sales was recorded in Argyll and Bute, with an annual increase of 24.5% compared with the same quarter the previous year. Edinburgh City recorded the highest volume of sales at 3,178, a rise of 8.6%. The largest percentage fall in volume of sales was in Aberdeen City, which showed a drop of 19.5% to 1,063 residential sales compared to the same quarter last year. The highest percentage fall was recorded in West Dunbartonshire, with an average price of £105,859, a fall of 12.7% compared with the same quarter the previous year while East Renfrewshire recorded the highest average at £241,364, an increase of 11.7% compared with the same quarter the previous year, which was also the largest percentage rise of all the local authorities over the year. The total value of sales across Scotland registered in the quarter increased by 2.5% compared to the previous year to just over £4.2 billion. The City of Edinburgh was the largest market with sales of £745.7 million for the quarter, an increase of 7.1% on the previous year. South Ayrshire recorded the highest increase in value with sales of £92.2 million, an increase of 27.8% compared with the same quarter last year. Aberdeen City showed the largest decrease in market value, a decrease of 24.4% to £223.8 million compared to the same quarter last year. All property types showed a decrease in average house price in this quarter. Terraced properties showed the biggest decrease down 5.6% to £132,700. Detached, semidetached and flats saw decreases in average house prices of 3.7%, 0.8% and 4.0% respectively. With the exception of detached properties, all property types showed an increase in sales volumes with flats showing the biggest increase at 11.2%. The volume of sales of detached properties decreased by 3.4%. The rise in property sales in Scotland over the last quarter indicates that there is still confidence in the market, according to Michelle Grant, investment director of Grant Property. ‘From a price perspective we are surprised to see a decline. On the ground we are still seeing prime city centre properties in Glasgow and Edinburgh selling for between 10% to 20% over home report valuation,’ she added. Simon Brown, partner and head of residential sales at CKD Galbraith, believes that the Scottish property market has remained resilient to political and economic changes despite the uncertainty of Brexit. ‘As a firm we have not experience any negative effects or hesitancy from… Continue reading
Majority of Australians think it is a good time to buy a home
Almost two thirds of Australian’s think now is a good time to be buying a home while roughly the same proportion believe the housing market is vulnerable to a significant correction. The latest quarterly housing market sentiment survey by CoreLogic and TEG Rewards housing market sentiment survey highlights the paradox in housing market attitudes. The data shows that 64% of respondents thought it was a good time to buy a property, up from 60% of respondents a year ago. However, 65% also indicated they thought property values could suffer a significant correction. Sydney based respondents, where affordability constraints are the most pressing of any capital city, were the most pessimistic about whether now is a good time to buy a property, however slightly more than half the respondents still felt it was a good time to buy. Conversely, the regions where dwelling values have peaked and shown a downturn are where respondents are most confident about buying conditions. Some 80% or more of respondents in the Northern Territory, Regional Western Australia and Perth indicated they thought it was a good time to buy. ‘With such as a large proportion of survey respondents thinking that now is a good time to buy a dwelling, it was surprising that almost two thirds also indicated they thought dwelling values could suffer a significant correction,’ said Tim Lawless CoreLogic head or research. ‘While the results suggest that survey respondents are concerned there could be a substantial fall in Australian home values, the proportion is lower from a year ago when 75% of respondents thought the market was vulnerable to a significant correction in values,’ he added. When asked whether dwelling values would rise, fall or remain steady over the next 12 months, the majority of respondents expected values to remain steady, with Tasmanians the most optimistic about the direction of value growth over the next year. Nationally, 38% of respondents are expecting dwelling values to rise over the next twelve months. In contrast, a year ago 45% of respondents thought values would rise, indicating that respondents have become less optimistic with regards to their views on capital gains over the next financial year. For rental market conditions, only 11% of survey respondents are expecting weekly rents to fall over the next 12 months, despite the CoreLogic rental series showing the weakest rental conditions in at least two decades. Nationally, almost equal numbers of survey respondents indicated that weekly rents would either rise or remain stable over the coming year, however there were some considerable variations across the regions. Less than one fifth of respondents in Perth and Regional Western Australia think weekly rents will rise. ‘The low expectation of rental rises in these areas is in line with current rental statistics which show ongoing falls in weekly rents across most parts of Western Australia,’ Lawless pointed out. Continue reading
More than half of UK tenants would move away to buy a home
More than half of tenants in the UK would move or consider moving to a different town or city in order to buy a home, according to a new poll of private renters. The poll from the National Landlords Association (NLA) found that some 27% of tenants would relocate in order to buy a house and a further 29% would consider doing so. However, 44% of tenants said they would not move to another town or city even if it meant being able to afford to buy their own place. Tenants in London were the most open to the idea with 87% saying they would relocate or consider relocating in order to buy a home. However, tenants in the East Midlands were the least receptive to the idea with just 14% willing to relocate. The research also shows that 47% of those surveyed said they were unable to afford a deposit for a new home with 22% unable to access mortgage finance to buy. The findings come as the latest English Housing Survey shows that more private rented homes now meet the decent homes standard than ever before, with fewer overcrowded properties and a larger proportion of energy efficient properties. Home ownership is out of reach for so many people, so the idea of upping sticks and moving to a new town or city in order to buy their own home is becoming more and more appealing,’ said Richard Lambert, NLA chief executive officer. ‘I think people are looking at the costs of buying, especially in high demand areas like London and the South East, and realising what they could get for their money elsewhere. Relocating is never an easy decision to make as it will often involve leaving behind friends and family. Then there are all the other considerations, not least whether you’ll be able to find the employment to make a move possible,’ he pointed out. ‘In the meantime, the private rented sector remains a key part of the UK’s housing mix and it’s essential that tenants can rely on it. The latest findings from the government are encouraging but more must be done to improve conditions for the minority of tenants who have a bad experience of renting privately,’ he added. Continue reading
