Tag Archives: crisis
Scottish residential rents up 3.1% in a year
Year on year residential rents in Scotland increased by 3.1% in June, up from the 2.7% recorded in the previous month, the latest index data shows. This rise takes average rents to a new peak of £549 a month and June’s figure represents the fastest year on year rise since April 2014, according to the buy to let index from lettings agent Your Move. Rents also increased month on month, up 0.8%, which was a slight slowdown from the 1% recorded in May. But in the preceding six months rents were climbing at a rate of only 0.1% per month. The index shows that rents are hitting all-time local records in the parts of Scotland that have traditionally been more affordable to live, where rental prices are usually lower. On an annual basis, rents have risen across all five regions of Scotland and as rent growth accelerates across the country, new price records have been set in the East, Highlands and Islands and the South. Glasgow & Clyde have seen the biggest boost in rents year on year, with typical rental rises up 4.6% since June 2014. Rents in the Highlands and Islands have jumped 4.3% in the past twelve months, taking the average monthly rent to a record high of £563. Similarly, rents in the East and South of Scotland have both reached a new peak following annual rent rises of 4% and 2.1% respectively. In contrast, Edinburgh and the Lothian’s has experienced the smallest yearly increase of only 0.8% but this marks an improvement from negative growth in the year to May 2015. Rents in all five regions of Scotland are also higher month on month. The average monthly rent in the Highlands and Islands has risen at the quickest pace since May, increasing by 2.4%. Compared to the previous month, Edinburgh and the Lothian’s have seen a 1.7% rise in June. This brings the average rent in the area to £604 as it continues to be the most expensive location in Scotland to rent. In Glasgow and Clyde rents are 0.6% higher since May, and the South has witnessed a 0.5% monthly climb in rental prices. The East of Scotland has seen a more modest 0.2% uplift in the month to June 2015, a considerable slowdown. ‘It’s not just the big urban centres of Edinburgh and Glasgow which are coming up against an urgent shortfall of housing. There is strong demand for homes to let the length and breadth of the nation, and that is underpinning this build-up in rental prices,’ said Brian Moran Your Move lettings director. The index also shows that as of June 2015, the average gross yield on a rental property in Scotland stands at 3.8%, on par with the previous month, but down on a year ago when gross yields were 4% in June 2014. Taking into account property price growth and void periods between tenants,… Continue reading
Residential property sales up in UK after election slowdown
Residential property sales in the UK increased by 4.7% between May and June 2015 and the seasonally adjusted transaction figure was 3.2% higher compared with the same month last year. he official data from HMRC also shows a total of 104,590 residential and 10,460 non-residential transactions in June. The number of non-adjusted residential transactions was 15.7% higher compared with May 2015 and the number of non-adjusted residential transactions was 5.8% higher than in May 2014. It means that the UK property market is back on track after disruption caused by a wait and see attitude in the run up to May’s general elections, according to Peter Rollings, chief executive officer of Marsh & Parsons. He said that the jump in sales in June has started to make up for any shortfall in the months preceding the general election and the market is seeing growth on an annual basis once again. ‘In London, supply of properties for sale and buyer demand are head to head, squaring up for steady price growth over the rest of the summer. Confidence is returning to the capital once again, particularly in the sector £1 million,’ he explained. ‘Buyer registrations are building as aspiring home owners seize hold of low mortgage rates and other incentive schemes currently available to them,’ he added. Continue reading
Extensions and alterations add £6.5 billion to the value of UK homes
Home owners in the UK have added an estimated £6.5 billion to the value of the country’s housing stock in the 12 months to March 2015, according to new research. Some 220,000 owner occupiers in the UK extended or altered their home in past year, equivalent to one in 74 home owners, the report from international real estate adviser Savills also shows. Based on the assumption that the average extension or alteration adds 10% to the value of the average home, this would create an average uplift of £30,000 per property, the report points out. By contrast mortgaged home movers are still only at half the level they were 10 years ago pre credit crunch, at 358,400 in the year to the end of March 2015, according to data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). ‘The cost of taking the next step up the housing ladder and the difficulties in acquiring the mortgage finance to do so appear to have encouraged a significant proportion of owner occupiers to extend or alter their existing home,’ said Lucian Cook, head of Savills UK residential research. ‘Changes made by the mortgage market review and increased stamp duty for properties over £1 million are both likely catalysts to home improvements, impeding the rate and volume of transactions in the market,’ he added. The report also suggest that there is a far greater propensity to alter or extend in high value markets. Savills estimates one in 44 home owners did so in London the year to end March 2015, while £3.6 billion of the £6.5 billion was added to the value of housing stock of London and the South East. ‘High value markets have generally been the strongest performers post credit crunch. Extending has therefore been both more financially viable, with owners recouping the money spent on home improvements through house price growth and more attractive given the relative costs of upsizing,’ said Cook. The research also shows that Hammersmith and Fulham and Kensington and Chelsea top the list of local authorities with the highest propensity to extend, both creating an uplift in property values of over £100 million before fixtures and fittings are taken into account. Beyond London, areas such as St Albans, Cambridge, Winsor and Maidenhead and Guildford have all seen significant numbers of home owners extending their home. Continue reading
