Tag Archives: crisis
UK property demand now higher outside of London, says market report
Demand for property in the UK is now higher outside of London, increasing by 5% since the second quarter of the year, according to latest market intelligence report. Bexley remains the hottest spot in the UK with demand climbing a 3% quarter on quarter to 77%, followed by Watford at 72%, Bristol at 71%, Reading at 68% and Barking at 65%. The rest of the top 10 is made up of Sutton at 64%, Cambridge at 67% and Medway, Havering and Brentwood all on 64%, the property hotspot index from online estate agent eMoov shows. The London Borough of Ealing has seen the most drastic turn around in property demand with growth of 74%, although at an index figure of 38%, demand in the area is still relatively low. Aberdeenshire is the coldest spot in the UK with demand at just 10% and demand in the area has halved since the third quarter of 2014. Highland is the only other Scottish region in the top 10 coldest spots, with demand at just 17%. Westminster at 15% and Kensington and Chelsea at 17% are the only London entries, with the other six coldest locations all located in the North West. Camden is the fifth biggest faller over the course of the year, with demand reducing by a quarter year on year with Westminster down 33% and Islington down 15%. The rest of the year’s biggest fallers are again, located across the north of the country. ‘In early 2014, we predicted the ripple effect London as an individual, market would have on the UK property market. Although there are pockets of the capital that have enjoyed sustained demand, it’s the commuter belt that is currently top for property demand in the UK,’ said the firm’s chief executive officer Russell Quirk. ‘The uncertainty of the situation in Aberdeenshire and the local oil industry, seems to have had serious repercussions to the local property market. Not only is it bottom, but demand has halved in just a year. Unfortunately there can only be one consequence to property prices in the area, which is inevitably a drop,’ he added. Continue reading
Underlying trend shows house price quarterly slowdown in UK
UK house prices in the third quarter of 2015 were 8.6% higher than in the same three months a year earlier and up 2% quarter on quarter, according to the latest residential index. However, the quarterly rate of growth fell from August’s 3%, to its lowest since May and the annual figure was lower than the 9% recorded in August, the date from leading lender The Halifax shows. The index report says that the movements are in line with the average so far this year and points out that monthly data can be volatile and the quarter on quarter change is a more reliable indicator of the underlying trend. Separate research shows that there has been a 60% increase in the average price of a flat over the past 10 years, significantly higher than the 38% rise for all residential properties. Detached homes with growth of 21% and bungalows at 28% have recorded the smallest rises over the last decade. ‘Housing demand has been strengthening recently, underpinned by economic growth, rising real earnings and very low mortgage rates,’ said Martin Ellis, Halifax housing economist. ‘Increasing demand is combining with very low supply to drive robust underlying house price growth. There is little reason to expect any fundamental shift in the key market drivers over the coming months,’ he added. Continue reading
Rising regulation seen as biggest challenge for UK mortgage brokers
Increasing regulatory and compliance demands top the list of challenges currently facing UK mortgage lenders, according to new research. Regulation and compliance demands were cited by 70% of respondents to a poll from EDM Mortgage Support Services (MSS), a provider of information and business process management technology and services to the UK mortgage market. Some 55% cited poor use of technology and or reliance on outdated technology, 50% said maintaining relationships with brokers, 46% the mortgage application and approval process and 38% a lack of transparency across the mortgage application and approval process. The vast majority, some 89% of respondents, said they thought that technology will be significant in improving the transparency of the audit chain and the ability to clearly track actions across the complete mortgage application process and only 3% said it will be insignificant. However, 73% believe that mortgage lenders face significant challenges in providing fully transparent and fully compliant data to key stakeholders such as regulators and 27% stated that they ‘absolutely’ believe this to be the case. The poll also shows that 75% said that since the introduction of the Mortgage Market Review in 2014, effective data management has become ‘significantly’ more important in the mortgage application and approval process to meet regulatory requirements while 3% thought it has become insignificant. ‘Mortgage lenders and firms across the mortgage industry are facing a raft of challenges, not just from increasingly strident regulators but also new competitors, outdated technology systems, increasing levels of fraud and the need for process transparency,’ said Joe Pepper, managing director of EDM Mortgage Support Services. ‘It is more crucial than ever that lenders and other stakeholders implement the right technological solutions that can effectively and efficiently help them manage all these challenges at the same time,’ he added. EDM Group expects the proportion of its revenue generated from the mortgage sector will significantly increase over the next few years because of the huge challenges facing lenders and intermediaries with regards to information management. Continue reading
