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UK property transactions up 3.2% month on month, HMRC provisional data shows
The number of seasonally adjusted property transactions in the UK increased by 3.2% in October and are up 4.3% compared to a year ago, according to the latest data published by HMRC. The pattern since the beginning of 2013/2014 has been of a general month on month increase in transactions for the seasonally adjusted data until February 2014, then a gradual decrease followed by a flattening out of transaction numbers. The data also shows that August 2014 saw a peak for recent non-seasonally adjusted transactions, the highest level since November 2007. In October 2014, the number of non-adjusted transactions has risen compared with September 2014, for residential properties. However, the rise was smaller than in previous years, so the seasonally adjusted figure for October 2014 is lower than in the previous month but higher than in October 2013. The seasonally adjusted estimate of the number of non-residential property transactions increased by 0.1% between September 2014 and October 2014. This month’s figure is also 8.0% higher compared to the same month last year. Seasonally adjusted transactions of non-residential property have been fairly stable over the last year. Non-seasonally adjusted transactions had a large drop in the first two months of 2014, but increased sharply in March. There were also dips in May and August, with month on month growth since then. Meanwhile, the latest transaction data from the Land Registry shows that it completed over 1.5 million applications from its customers in October. This includes 1,464,352 applications by account customers, of which 382,966 were applications in respect of registered land (dealings), 662,153 were applications to obtain an official copy of a register or title plan, 205,537 were searches and 102,912 were transactions for value. The South East topped the table of regional applications with 349,858 and Birmingham topped the table of local authority applications with 23,528. Continue reading
Rents fall across majority of UK regions in October, latest monthly index shows
Most regions in the UK saws rental prices fall in October and while they are still higher than a year ago the last three months data indicates a cooling in the market, according to the latest index. Outside of London the average monthly rent is now £708, according to the HomeLet index which also shows that Plymouth, Cardiff and Leeds most affordable major cities to rent in the UK while London, Edinburgh and Birmingham are least affordable. Overall the rents landlords are charging on new tenancy agreements are continuing to fall across the UK with rental prices dropping in seven out of 12 regions of the country in October 2014. While rents for new tenancies in October were still higher than in the same month of 2013, HomeLet has now recorded lower rental prices in each of the past three months in many regions, indicating a cooling in the rental market. Regions that have previously recorded high growth such as Greater London, East Anglia the South East and the South West of England are now recording falling rental prices. In Greater London, for example, rents levied on new tenancies signed in October 2014 were 3.8% lower than September 2014. In the South East, rents fell 3.1% and in East Anglia prices dropped 5.4%, while the South West saw the biggest monthly drop with rents falling by 9.3% Meanwhile, in areas of the country where rents have not been rising quite so fast, October saw continued growth. In the North East of England, rents on new tenancies rose by 3.8% in October and in the East Midlands, October’s increase was 3.4%. A breakdown of the figures show that in Scotland the average monthly rent it £587, down 4.4% month on month but up 2.6% annually while in Wales it is £597, down 1% month on month and up 3.3% year on year. Northern Ireland saw monthly rents fall 6.3% to £578 but up just 0.9% year on year. The average monthly rent in East Anglia is £781, down 5.4% compared with September but up 8.5% annually. In the South West it is £787, down 9.3% month on month and up 3.6% annually while the South East saw rents fall 3.1% to £880, an annual rise of 7.3%. In the North West rents increased by 1.7% on a monthly basis to £671 and are up 7.5% year on year. Yorkshire and Humberside also saw a monthly rise with rents up 0.2% to £608 and up 4.8% annually. In the North East rents increased by 3.8% to £528 and are up 2.3% year on year while the West Midlands saw a rise of 0.6% to £660 but rents are 11.7% higher than a year ago. The East Midlands also saw a rise with rents up 3.4% to £605 and up 2.9% annually. London, which tends to be on a different trajectory to the rest of the country, saw rents fall by 3.8% compared to September,… Continue reading
UK house prices back on track after September dip
UK house prices back on track after falling slightly in September dip with a 1.2% rise in October and up 7% annually, the latest published index shows. Growth of up to 5% is now predicted across UK in 2015 but the data from haart, the UK’s largest independent estate agent, with a network of over 200 branches, also shows that first time buyers are paying 8.1% more than a year ago. The latest rise takes the average annual house price to £204,247 but in London it is £501,561 with prices in the city up 18% year on year although monthly growth has slowed to 0.3%. The firm predicts UK property price growth between 3.5% and 5% in 2015 and in London up to 7% as 10 buyers chase each new property instruction across the country and 17 in London. ‘Although price growth is easing it is merely a market correction with all signals pointing to price rises of up to 5% across the UK next year. Savvy buyers and sellers would be wise to run with the window of opportunity that this creates now,’ said Paul Smith, chief executive officer of haart. He predicts that in the run up to the election next May it will be a case of ‘steady as she goes’ with little intervention from the government which thinks it has bigger fish to fry. However, he thinks this is short sighted. ‘Now is the time for some erudite analysis of the housing market by all political parties if we are to emerge post-election with renewed vigour. Supply of homes is the biggest issue affecting prices and until this is properly addressed, prices will continue to rise,’ he explained. The data also shows that the number of new buyers registering is down 12.3% annually and 2.4% on the month, but this must be seen in the context of the first six months of this year which were exceptionally busy with a renewed enthusiasm to buy driven by low interest rates and the availability of good mortgage deals. The number of properties for sale has dropped slightly annually, which again must be seen in context. The previous four months all saw an increase in the number of properties for sale. Overall demand remains strong across the UK. Again, with demand from first time buyers, there has been both an annual and a monthly fall in volumes by 17.2% and 3.6% respectively. First time buyers are putting down, on average, a deposit that is 4.4% lower than this time last year and the average LTV achieved is now 79.5% which is up from 78.7% last year. First time buyers are now taking out higher mortgages, at an average of £131,119, an 11.9% annual increase. Continue reading
