Tag Archives: cookies
House sales flatten in UK due to forthcoming general election, says RICS
Buyer enquiries and house sales have flattened in the UK in the run up to the general election, according to the latest monthly market survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. In most parts of the country, the supply versus demand imbalance led to 21% more surveyors reporting a rise in house prices in March, up from 15% in February, and 15% more surveyors expecting prices to increase over the next three months compared with 10% in February but the results for both are significantly lower than in March 2014. Nationally, Northern Ireland continues to outperform the rest of the UK with the strongest house price growth in March and the highest price expectations over the next three months. However, across much of the rest of the UK, particularly in Wales and Scotland, price gains over the next three months are expected to be much more moderate. In London, a lack of prospective buyers saw enquiries and the number of agreed sales both fall for the eleventh consecutive month and 24% more surveyors reported a decline in the number of new properties coming onto the market for sale. However, compared to the start of the year when 42% more surveyors reported a decrease in prices, just 13% more surveyors saw prices fall in March and across the whole of the UK, the average surveyor sold 19.5 properties, reflecting activity since Autumn, although it remains some way down on where it was in the early part of 2014. The boost that was given to the housing market by the Help to Buy scheme has begun to dissipate and activity levels have slipped back as a result, according to Simon Rubinsohn, RICS chief economist. ‘Even more worrying are the tentative signs that price momentum could be set to pick up once again as the supply of stock to the market continues to fall. Anecdotal evidence does suggest that election uncertainty may be having some impact on the market, but underlying the trends visible in the latest survey is a very real housing crisis which will urgently need to be addressed by the next government,’ he explained. ‘It is significant that price expectations nationally are accelerating both at the three and twelve month time horizons and at the latter they are at their highest level since the spring of last year,’ he added. Continue reading
Farm land in England breaks the £8,000 an acre barrier
Even the impending general election in the UK has failed to pull back the farmland market in England, with prices continuing to rise in the first quarter of the year. The farmland market in England has gained further ground this year with the average price of bare agricultural land rising by almost 2% between January and March to break the £8,000 an acre barrier for the first time. An acre is now worth £8,059, according to the Knight Frank Farmland Index. Values have risen by 10% over the past 12 months and by 192% over the past 10 years. This compares with 10 year capital growth of 138% for the prime central London residential market, 40% for the FTSE 100, despite the index hitting its own record high earlier this year, and 250% for gold. An imminent General Election, particularly one with so many possible outcomes, might have been expected to cause the market to pause for breath, but it appears the appeal of farmland is overriding the uncertainty, according to Andrew Shirley, head of rural research. But he pointed out that the market continues to separate into two clear sub-markets, each with their own distinct performance trends. Large blocks, ideally over 1,000 acres, of arable land are being eagerly sought after by investors and demand is so strong that prices upwards of £12,000 an acre are regularly being paid and even £15,000 an acre has been achieved on a number of occasions. Although East Anglia has traditionally been the main source of investment farmland, buyers are now looking across the country and exceptionally strong results have also been recorded in counties such as Hampshire. Continue reading
Survey finds home owners think peer to peer lending is risky
Almost half of home owners in the UK who have not invested in peer to peer finance are put off by a perceived risk, new research has found. Some 42% who took part in a new survey feared it was too risky, 22% had never heard of it, 17% do not understand how it works but 5% had invested on at least one peer to peer platform. Younger generations however are more open to risk, with just 28% of those aged 25 to 34 citing risk as a factor for not investing in peer to peer, compared to 46% of 55 and overs, according to the YouGov poll commissioned by buy to let peer to peer platform Landbay. Some 30% of those home owners who do use peer to peer platforms invested moderate amounts of £1,000 or less. However at the opposite end of the spectrum, 18% invested larger sums of over £5,000. Investment in peer to peer finance appears to be divided into consumers trying out platforms with small amounts of cash invested, and those who regularly invest larger sums. ‘We’ve gone out of our way to be open and up front about the risks involved on our platform, but we’re equally open about the unique range of protections our model offers. We’ve based our proposition around creating the most risk proof peer to peer platform, in an industry sometimes reluctant to mention the risk,’ said John Goodall, cofounder and chief executive officer of Landbay. ‘These research findings highlight the need to debate the merits of risk more in financial planning. We need an open and proper discussion on whether more people should consider moving a small proportion of their savings into an investment,’ he pointed out. ‘Of course risk is not for everyone, but it appears too many hoard large amounts of money in cash savings when it might be wise to consider putting a small amount of those savings at risk in exchange for better returns as part of a balanced approach,’ he explained. ‘The question is whether too many people see it as a binary choice between keeping all their money safe in the bank or putting it all at risk. Instead it should be about finding the right balance to achieve what you want to with your hard earned cash,’ he concluded. Continue reading
