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House price growth continued across the UK in November, latest ONS data shows
House prices in the UK increased by 7.7% in the year to November 2015, up from 7% the previous month, according to figures from the Office of National Statistics. House price annual inflation was 8.3% in England, 1.3% in Wales, 0.4% in Scotland and 4.6% in Northern Ireland. The ONS data also shows that house price growth in England were driven by an annual increase in the East of 10.2%, the South East at 9.8% and London also at 9.8%. Excluding London and the South East, UK house prices increased by 5.8% in the 12 months to November 2015. On a seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices increased by 0.8% between October and November 2015 and prices paid by first time buyers were 7.4% higher on average than in November 2014. The continued upward trend is likely to exacerbate affordability issues for first time buyers, according to Steve Bolton, founder of Platinum Property Partners who added that it is a result of the current dearth in property supply. ‘Recent initiatives aimed at addressing the challenges faced by first time buyers show little signs of reversing this trend. The Chancellor’s decision to levy a 3% surcharge on stamp duty for landlords and second home owners may be with first time buyers’ interests at heart, but in reality this is likely to drive up house prices further in the short term as buyers rush to compete purchases before spring,’ he explained. ‘The stamp duty changes and restriction on buy to let tax relief gives the impression that a strong private rental is a barrier to popular home ownership. However, the reality is that by attacking private landlords and increasing buy to let costs, tenants are likely to face rising rents which is a huge barrier to future home ownership,’ he pointed out. ‘The tax grab is targeted purely at landlords with mortgages, excluding the wealthiest landlords. This is unfair and undemocratic, which is why we’re currently co-heading a legal challenge to fight these changes. Having received considerable industry support, as well as raising funding for the initial stage in a matter of days, its clear many landlords agree the tax changes pose a serious threat to the future of the buy to let market,’ he added. Rishi Passi, chief executive of Oblix Capital believes that the lack of supply is unlikely to change in the short term. ‘Better job prospects, wage improvement and recurring delays in interest rate rises mean that it’s likely this surge in house sales and price inflation will continue, for the meantime at least,’ he said. ‘Further investment is needed to encourage house building, stem the supply imbalance in crowded markets, and ensure that small and medium sized developers have access to the finance they need,’ he added. Jonathan Hopper, managing director of buying agents Garrington Property Partners, pointed out that overall first time buyer prices are rising more… Continue reading
Prime property prices in UK set to vary in 2016 according to location
The rate of overall house price growth in the UK prime property market is expected to continue at much the same pace in 2016 as in 2015, with the regional variations remaining too. Average UK house prices rose 4.5% in 2015, according to the latest residential market update from real estate firm Knight Frank. Average values in prime central London rose by 1% last year on average, but the rate of growth varied across the capital while prime country house prices rose by 3.1% in 2015. The report says that the Bank of England’s decision to keep interest rates on hold in January, coupled with the continued fall in oil prices has prompted some economists to push back the date on which the first UK rate rise is expected to 2017. ‘A longer period of low mortgage rates, alongside firmer wage growth and a continued lack of new and second-hand housing stock, should continue to underpin overall pricing during 2016. Activity has been gradually picking up in recent years, but this trend is likely to be hampered by the continued lack of supply of homes coming to the market across the country,’ said Grainne Gilmore, head of residential research at Knight Frank. She also pointed out that the Government has announced a raft of new policies to boost the supply of housing, a recognition that housing is now one of the key areas of focus for the electorate. A breakdown of the figures in the report show that in prime central London the biggest rise in prices has been in Islington with growth of 6.4%, followed by City and Fringe at 5.7%, Marylebone at 4.7%, Mayfair at 3%, and Kensington at 2.5%. In St John’s Woods prices were unchanged and south of the river Southbank saw prices rise by 1.7% and Riverside growth of 4% but elsewhere prices fell, most notably a decline of 6.1% in Knightsbridge. Prices were down 3.8% in Notting Hill, by 3.7% in South Kensington, by 2.7% in Chelsea, by 1.8% in Hyde Park and by 0.2% Belgravia. Average rents across the country rose by 2.7% in the year to September, with the strongest rental growth across Greater London at 4.1% but rental growth in prime central London eased in the second half of last year, and now stands at 0.7%. This comes after prime central London rents peaked at 4.2% growth in May. ‘This market is quite seasonal, and closely linked to the financial services sector. As a result, rents have been affected by restructuring plans announced by major European banks,’ explained Gilmore. Prime rents increased by 2.7% in the South East and the East of England, by 2.1% in the East Midlands, by 1.9% in the West Midlands, by 1.8% in the South West, by 1.6% in Scotland, by 0.9% in Yorkshire and the Humber, by 0.7% in the North West and by 0.5% in Wales and the North East. The report points out that certain sections… Continue reading
Property market in England and Wales sees active start to year with price rise of 0.5%
Property prices in England and Wales have increased 0.5% month on month, with the residential market seeing an active start to 2016, according to the latest index figures. Prices are also up 6.5% year on year taking the average price of a home to £290.963, the data from Rightmove also shows, making it the second highest festive period rise since 2007. However, the good news for those getting onto the property ladder is that prices in the lower end of the market where first time buyers are usually found, typically two bedroom homes, have only increased by 0.1%. Demand as measured by visits to the Rightmove website in the first working week of 2016 is up by 21% on the same period in 2015. ‘Upwards price pressure remains, with the second highest rise seen at this time of year for nine years but encouragingly for first time buyers there’s more fresh choice with more property coming to market in their target sector,’ said Miles Shipside, Rightmove director and housing market analyst. ‘With their asking prices pretty much the same as a month ago, perhaps the knock-on effects of the more punitive landlord tax regime have arrived early and they now face a dilemma over whether to buy now or wait to see if prices drop in this sector over the next few months,’ he added. While the 0.5% rise in new seller asking prices is lower than the 1.4% recorded in January 2015, Shipside pointed out that it is higher than every other January since 2007, before the credit crunch began. A breakdown of the data shows there are variations across locations. Prices fell by 0.9% in Greater London to an average of £610,741 and are up 7.8% year on year. They also fell by 1.8% in the East Midlands to £182,318 and by 0.2% in Yorkshire and Humber to £165,722, but are up 2.9% and 2.8% respectively year on year. The biggest monthly rise was in the South West, up 3.5% to £282,373, and up 5.5% year on year. They increased by 2.3% in the West Midlands to £198,595 and up 4.9% year on year while they rose 1.8% in the North East to £142,006 with annual growth of 5.1%. In Wales prices increased by 1.6% month on month to £166,051 but are down 0.5% compared to a year ago. They rose by 1% in the East of England to £312,921 and up by 9.8% year on year, by 0.6% in the South East to £383,787 and by 7.3% year on year while in the North West prices were up just 0.2% to £171,588 and up annually by 4.9%. The report also shows that a lack of property coming to market has been an upwards driver of both prices and unfulfilled demand, though encouragingly there has been a slight 1.8% year on year uplift in the number of newly marketed properties. However, the only sector that has increased is that of… Continue reading
