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UK house prices up 11.7% year on year and national index reaches new record
UK house prices increased by 11.7% in the year to July 2014, up from 10.2% in the year to June 2014, according to the latest figures from the Office of National Statistics. House price annual inflation was 12% in England, 7.4% in Wales, 7.6% in Scotland and 4.5% in Northern Ireland. The index report says that overall house prices are increasing strongly across the UK, with prices in London again showing the highest growth. Annual house price increases in England were driven by an annual increase in London of 19.1% and to a lesser extent increases in the South East at 12.2% and the East at 10.6%. Excluding London and the South East, UK house prices increased by 7.9% in the 12 months to July 2014 and on a seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices increased by 1.6% between June and July 2014. In July 2014, prices paid by first time buyers were 13.5% higher on average than in July 2013. For owner occupiers prices increased by 10.9% for the same period. The mix adjusted house price index reached a record level of 206.6, some 2.7% higher than June 2014 when it reached 201.2, and 11.4% higher than the pre financial crisis peak of 185.5 in January 2008. David Newnes, director of Reeds Rains and Your Move estate agents, pointed out that while what’s happening in London may be eye-catching, it is like looking through a kaleidoscope and skews any view of the current total housing landscape. ‘Peeling back the regional layers gives a much more informed view of the core reality of the current market. According to our own research, house price growth slowed across all regions except for London, the South East and East Anglia in July. While these three regions continue to set new house price highs, the rest of the country is nowhere near these levels of growth,’ he explained. ‘Most recently we’re seeing asking prices in the capital start to be reined in, which will apply the brakes on annual house price inflation as the market steadies. With evidence of London starting to cool off after strong growth earlier in the year, it is critical that the underlying momentum that has stimulated much needed increased volume in the rest of the market is allowed freedom to keep moving, whilst any price rises are kept steady and under control,’ said Newnes. ‘Further afield, it is critical that support mechanisms like Help to Buy aren’t dismantled. Compared to the nadir of 2008/2012, activity in the housing market has improved, but is not completely out of the woods yet, and still needs to recapture some of the vitality of its pre-recession health,’ he concluded. Peter Rollings, chief executive officer of Marsh & Parsons, believes that the market is returning to business as usual. 'UK house price growth is persevering with its upward climb, but the stride is steadying with prices rising an orderly 1.6% in the month to July 2014. However, London remains the snag in the… Continue reading
Number of London homes worth over a million set to rise by 47% by 2018
The number of London house sales breaking the £1 million price barrier is expected to rise by 47% by 2018, according to new analysis from international property adviser, Savills. It means a further expansion of a market that has grown by 165% in the past five years. In 2003, just 1,825 £1 million plus sales were recorded by the Land Registry, a figure that rose to 7,529 last year. By 2018, the annual total is expected to exceed 11,000, in response to forecast price rises and means that more locations in the Greater London area will qualify as prime property area. According to calculations from Savills, annual turnover in London’s £1 million plus market has risen by 312% over the past decade and is forecast to record a 505% increase in the 15 years from 2003 to 2018. During the same period, prime London house prices are expected to have risen by 160%, evidence both of the rising prosperity in the capital and the geographical expansion of the prime market. A decade ago just over half of sales worth £1 million or more were concentrated in just two central boroughs, Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster, with 569 and 370 sales respectively. Last year, while these two central boroughs still accounted for a third of this high value market place, four other boroughs of Wandsworth, Hammersmith and Fulham, Camden and Richmond upon Thames, each saw more than 500 £1 million plus sales recorded by the Land Registry. Only two of London’s 33 boroughs, Barking and Dagenham and Newham, did not see any £1 million plus sales recorded by the Land Registry in 2013. Three other boroughs, Croydon, Waltham Forest and Bexley, recorded fewer than 10 such sales at nine, three and two respectively. But even in the highest value areas of these five boroughs average values were between £275,000 and £390,000. ‘In the past five years, we have seen £1 million sales increasingly extend into areas such as Acton, Dalston, Herne Hill, Tooting Bec and Blackheath. In the next five years such sales are expected to become significantly more concentrated in emerging locations such as Streatham, Kingston, Borough and Northwood,’ said Lucian Cook, head of UK residential research at Savills. ‘The majority of locations where we expect to see the emergence of £1 million-plus sales in the next five years neighbour existing prime areas. Areas such as Earlsfield, Brixton and Wanstead should see a greater proliferation of the £1 million price tag, which is also expected to begin to appear in such locations as Crystal Palace to the south, Southgate to the north and Isleworth and Osterley to the west,’ he added. The Savills research also identifies the emergence of a third ‘wealth corridor’, running south east via Dulwich and Bromley, as wealth flows out from more central locations, boosting house prices along its route. ‘Much of the growth in £1 million-plus sales will be organic, driven… Continue reading
Number of foreign buyers in Paris region rises as French look to Spain
Foreign buyers are increasingly snapping up properties in and around Paris with new figures showing they account for almost one in 10 sales. In the three districts that make up the Ile de France some 9.2% of buyers were from overseas, the first time such a number of sales has been seen for 15 years. The figures from real estate group Bien, said that there has been a big shift in where buyers are coming from. Italian, Chinese, Algerian and Portuguese buyers make up the bulk of sales to overseas buyers. But overall the number of foreign buyers has remained stable with fewer French people buying homes in the region, according to the firm. In Paris itself, some 8.3% of buyers this year have been foreign nationals, with the figure rising to 11.2% in the Inner Ring and dropping to 7.5% in the Outer Ring. Four years ago, foreigners made up just 6.3% of the sales total in the region. Italians accounted for the largest foreign group in Paris, with 17% of sales. Chinese buyers dominated the foreign market in the Inner Ring with 22.2% of sales while Portuguese buyers came out tops in the Outer Ring at 29%. It is not a case of foreign buyers moving to France. The data shows that some 90% of these buyers were already resident in the Paris region. Meanwhile, another report suggests that the French are buying more property in Spain. Some 18.2% of foreign buyers in Spain are French and 51% of enquiries are within an hour’s drive of Spain, according to the latest data from Spanish property portal Kyero. It means that the French are now the second largest group of foreign buyers of Spanish property. British buyer are still top at 54.5 and in third place is Germans at 7.5%. A multitude of economic factors over the past year have encouraged more and more French buyers into Spain, according to Martin Dell, Kyero director. ‘With the French property market looking pretty flat, many are casting their eyes further south in search of holiday home bargains that can satisfy both investment and lifestyle requirements,’ he explained. ‘Property in Spain is incredibly cheap right now and for French buyers, being part of the Euro, means that the headache of currency exchange is removed from the purchase process,’ he said, adding that the north of Spain is particularly popular due to it being easily accessible. Kyero figures show that Girona, just 55 minutes' drive from France accounted for 51% of enquiries, followed by Castellon at 46%, Tarragona at 29% and Cantabria at 25%. Continue reading
