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House prices up 0.1% in the UK in November, latest growth index shows
House prices across the UK increased by 0.1% in November but softened slightly year on year with annual growth of 3.7%, down from 3.9% in October. The latest data from lender the Nationwide shows it was the weakest performance in monthly price growth since June 2015. The latest increase takes the average house price to £196,807. But Nationwide chief economist Robert Gardner pointed out that growth rates have fluctuated throughout the year. Annual growth has been in a fairly narrow range between 3% and 4% over the past six months, which he said is broadly consistent with earnings growth over the longer term. ‘While this bodes well for a sustainable increase in housing market activity in the period ahead, much will depend on whether building activity can keep pace with increasing demand. Surveyors have continued to report a dearth of properties on the market in recent months, with the number of available homes reportedly at the lowest level since the late 1970s,’ said Gardner. ‘Therefore it is positive that policymakers are focusing on the need to increase home building, with the Chancellor announcing a range of measures aimed at boosting housing supply in his Autumn Statement,’ he explained. ‘The current rate of construction activity is well below the projected rate of household formation. Only 135,000 new homes were built in England in the 12 months to September 2015, well below the 220,000 new households that are projected to form each year over the next decade,’ he added. Neal Hudson, associate director at Savills research, described the figures as showing a relatively strong end to the year. ‘Previous trends suggest that prices tend to weaken in December and so the 4.1% total growth seen in the year to date may be closer to 4% by the end of the year. These price rises are in a large part due to increased competition in the mortgage market which have led to record low mortgage rates and record high lending multiples,’ he added. According to Alex Gosling, chief executive officer of online estate agents HouseSimple, the main issue in today’s market is that demand continues to massively outstripping supply. ‘We have an immediate supply crisis in the UK and it's hard to see how home builders can build houses fast enough to free up the demand supply bottleneck,’ he said. ‘We need measures to stimulate the housing market and it can't be just about building more homes to meet demand in the future. Sellers need to be encouraged back to the market. But home owners are finding it harder to climb up the property ladder, which means people are renovating and extending rather than moving,’ he pointed out. ‘High prices remain a barrier for first time buyers but also second and third steppers and price growth is unlikely to cool in the coming months, especially with more investors expected to come to the market to buy before the new buy to let stamp duty rates come into… Continue reading
Conveyancer jailed for fraud over stamp duty scam
A warning has gone out to property industry professionals in the UK to make sure they carry out correct Stamp Duty returns after a conveyancer was jailed for stealing money paid by his clients. Anthony Maragh, 57, from Harrow in London, consistently undervalued his clients’ properties so that less stamp duty land tax was paid to Revenue and Customs (HMRC) while he kept the difference. He swindled his clients and HMRC out of almost £352,500 in stamp duty land tax between 2008 and 2013. Tax investigators found that he lied on paperwork to undervalue his clients' properties meaning the amount of tax owed was reduced. But he charged them the full amount and kept the difference. He under declared the stamp duty land tax due on 43 property transactions, transferring £297,000 directly from the solicitor's company accounts into his personal bank account. He also spent a further £55,000 directly from the Client Account on collectable antique Chinese gold bonds. ‘As a conveyancer, Maragh knew only too well that he was breaking the law and what the consequences of his actions would be,’ said Martin Brown, assistant director of the Fraud Investigation Service at HMRC. ‘He abused the trust of his clients, stealing money that had been paid by them in good faith to meet their tax liabilities, to line his own pockets. Maragh thought that his scheme would go undetected, but he was wrong and is now behind bars with his reputation and career in tatters,’ he added. Anyone with information on suspected tax fraud should contact the Customs Hotline on 0800 59 5000. Maragh was sentenced to three years and four months in prison and confiscation proceedings to recover the proceeds of crime are underway. ‘This was repeated offending and an abuse of position and trust with a large number of victims exposed to risk,’ said Her Honour Judge Poulet in court. Continue reading
New planning reforms in UK welcomed, but lack of resources not addressed
The British Property Federation has welcomed the majority of the changes announced in the autumn financial statement by the UK Chancellor but expressed disappointment that there was no mention of a review of planning fees. ‘While there are some really sensible suggestions in today’s announcement, the planning system still has one big problem, the lack of resources in local authority planning departments,’ said Melanie Leech, chief executive of the BPF. ‘Both the private and public sector have identified this as one of the biggest obstacles for development, and with the private sector willing to discuss how it might be able to plug the funding gap, it is frustrating that Government has not engaged on this matter,’ she added. Included in the statement was amendments to planning policy to ensure the release of unused and previously undeveloped commercial, retail and industrial land for Starter Homes, and support for the regeneration of previously developed, brownfield sites in the greenbelt, by allowing them to be developed in the same way as brownfield sites elsewhere, providing it delivers Starter Homes. It will be subject to local consultation, such as through neighbourhood plans and Leech described it as a ‘very sensible step’ and one that will put a stop to endless battles in the planning regime as well as bringing forward the Government’s intended 200,000 Starter Homes. ‘The sites that will be eligible for this will not be lush green fields, but rather disused scrap yards and car parks which happen to sit within the Green Belt, and which are calling out to be more productively used,’ she pointed out. There will also be the establishment of a new delivery test on local authorities, to ensure delivery against the number of homes set out in Local Plans. The BPF believes that Local Plans are the key to sustainable development. Leech said it will ensure that local authorities really do concentrate on growth for their area and that their local plans are focused on delivery and the practicalities of housing the population. ‘The lack of resources afflicting local authority planning departments is an issue, and if authorities can keep their local plans kept short and sharp, they will help themselves,’ she added. The changes will also see the release of public sector land with capacity for 160,000 homes representing a more than 50% increase on the government’s record in the last parliament ‘The homes that are brought forward on these sites must be serviced with sufficient infrastructure and will ideally have homes for sale and for rent, to ensure that they contribute to mixed, vibrant communities,’ said Leech. The government will bring forward proposals for a more standardised approach to viability assessments, and extend the ability to appeal against unviable section 106 agreements to 2018. It is well known that a lot of disagreement between local authorities and developers arise due to viability assessments so the move towards a standardised viability model should go a long way to… Continue reading
