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More than half a million British properties now worth over £1 million
The number of home owners in Britain whose property is worth £1 million or more has exceeded half a million for the first time, according to new research. The number of so called property millionaires now stands at 524,306, an increase of 8.3% on last year’s figure and almost 11,000 streets now have an average property value above £1 million, the data from Zoopla shows. Of the 10,958 streets with average property prices over £1 million some 43% are located in London. Areas outside the capital with the highest proportion of £1 million plus streets are all in Surrey, with Guildford, Leatherhead and Richmond housing 158, 154 and 144 respectively. At the very top end of the market, the data shows there are now 13 streets in Britain where the average house price is over £10 million, all of which are in London. Kensington Palace Gardens in W8 ranked as the country’s most expensive street overall, with homes there worth £42,591,972 on average, over 150 times the average national property value. The Boltons in SW10, where a nine bedroom detached house sold for £51 million in April, takes second place, with average property values standing at £30,288,586. Grosvenor Crescent in the exclusive suburb of SW1 rounds out the top three, with an average property price of £22,752,425. While exclusive London boroughs boast most of Britain’s priciest properties, certain areas of Surrey and Buckinghamshire have also acquired a reputation for very high property values. Virginia Water and Cobham, both in Surrey, top the towns table, with average property prices of £1,208,638 and £1,037,825 respectively. Beaconsfield in Buckinghamshire, where the average property value amounts to £982,660, comes in third. In terms of postcodes, W8 in Kensington, remains top of the heap, boasting average property prices of £2.77 million. Neighbouring SW7 in Knightsbridge is the next most expensive area in the capital with average values of £2.43 million, while property values in third placed SW3 in Chelsea stand at £2.24 million. ‘London continues to be the epicentre of the million pound property market in Britain but there are a number of high value property areas outside the capital, particularly in Surrey and Buckinghamshire, that are very attractive to professionals seeking to live outside yet within easy reach of the city and enjoy low crime rates coupled with good schools,’ said Lawrence Hall of Zoopla. Continue reading
House prices up 2.5% in the European Union in first quarter of 2015
House prices increased by 0.9% in the euro area and by 2.5% in the European Union in the first quarter of 2015, according to the latest data to be published. The figures from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, also show that compared with the first quarter of 2014 prices increased by 0.3% in the euro area and 0.6% in the EU. But there is a huge difference between the fastest growing housing markets and those where prices are still falling. The highest annual increases in house prices in the first quarter of 2015 were recorded in Ireland with growth of 16.8%, followed by Sweden at 11.6%, Hungary at 9.7% and the UK at 8.5%. The largest annual fall in house prices was recorded in Latvia where prices are down 5.8%, followed by Italy down 3.3%, France down 1.6% and Slovenia down 1.4%. On a quarterly basis the biggest growth was seen in Romania where prices increased by 4.1% compared with the fourth quarter of 2014, followed by Sweden with quarterly growth of 3.9%, Hungary up 3.7% and Denmark up 3.5%. The largest quarterly house price falls were recorded in Belgium, Cyprus and Croatia with all three countries seeing growth down by 2.8%. There is no data available for Greece or Poland so it is not possible to see how their property markets have been fairing. An in depth look at some of the figures show how property markets, even in countries with strong price growth are wavering. Ireland may have the strongest annual growth but prices fell by 0.9% in the first quarter of 2015 compared with growth of 3.9% in the fourth quarter of 2014. In Spain the market has been pretty stable. Prices are up 1.6% year on year and have been increasing steadily each quarter but this steady growth was halted in the first quarter of 2015 when prices dipped 0.5%. A similar pattern can be seen in neighbouring Portugal. France has seen prices steadily falling and down 1.6% year on year in the first quarter of 2015, but this decline is down from the 2.2% annual fall recorded in the fourth quarter of 2014. Continue reading
UK financial watchdog says mortgage advice can be improved
Most people in the UK get suitable advice when they take out a mortgage but there is still room for an improvement in standards, according to a review by the UK’s financial watchdog. Two studies from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) found that many lenders have taken significant steps to provide advice for the first time. These firms, and those that have always provided advice, should now focus on delivering consistently good outcomes for customers. They also found that while there was no evidence of systemic customer detriment, some firms were failing to take reasonable steps to obtain sufficient, relevant information about customers’ needs and circumstances before making recommendations. Although 59% of advice provided to customers was assessed as suitable, with only a small number of cases assessed as demonstrably unsuitable, the basis for 38% of recommendations was unclear. The consumer research highlighted that some customers place the greatest importance on the initial monthly payment to the detriment of other factors. This can dictate whether they think a mortgage is a ‘good deal’ or not. ‘A mortgage is a significant undertaking for anyone. It is vital that customers are able to get suitable advice and a positive experience when deciding on their options. Some firms were able to provide this, but not all,’ said Linda Woodall, acting director of supervision at the FCA. ‘Although we welcome the considerable work of those firms delivering advice for the first time, and particularly those that have proactively identified issues within their own processes, there is still scope for improvement. We’ll continue working with firms to ensure they deliver good outcomes for consumers,’ she added. Following the review, the FCA said it will continue to work with industry to address the issues identified. Individual feedback to firms visited as part of the study has already been given, together with actions required as a result of the findings. Some firms assessed had already independently identified issues with their advice processes, and were making changes to improve their service to consumers. The review also found that many lenders had made significant efforts to deliver advice for the first time by investing in systems, front line staff and operational capability. Some firms were relying on highly structured processes. This often resulted in lengthy, stilted and repetitive conversations with consumers which limited the adviser’s ability to engage effectively and properly assess needs and circumstances. By contrast, other firms delivered advice with little or no structure, resulting in inconsistent quality of advice and a higher chance of unsuitable recommendations. The best performing firms have demonstrated that it is possible to strike an appropriate balance. The review of advice and distribution forms part of the FCA’s wider programme of mortgages work. Its thematic review into responsible lending commenced in April 2015 and from autumn this year, the FCA will begin a wider assessment of barriers to competition, with a view to launching a market study in early 2016 on those aspects of the… Continue reading
