Tag Archives: crisis
Residential property prices in England and Wales up 1.3% in January
Home prices in England and Wales increased by 6.7% year on year in January and were up 1.3% month on month, according to the latest land registry figures. This takes the average property value in England and Wales to £179,492 compared with the peak of £181,101 in November 2007. A breakdown of the figures shows that London experienced the greatest increase in its average property value over the last 12 months with a rise of 12% while the North West experienced the greatest monthly rise of 2.6%. The North East saw the lowest annual price growth with a rise of just 0.1% and Yorkshire and the Humber saw the largest monthly price fall of 1.5%. The data also shows that the most up to date figures available reveal that the number of completed house sales in England and Wales decreased by 19% to 68,107 compared with 83,726 in November 2013. The number of properties sold in England and Wales for over £1 million decreased by 18% to 869 from 1,060 a year earlier and repossession volumes in England and Wales decreased by 47% to 687 compared with 1,286 in November 2013. London was the region with the greatest fall in repossession sales. Peter Rollings, chief executive officer of Marsh & Parsons, explained the figures confirm that house price growth regrouped in January after an underwhelming end to 2014. ‘All the fundamentals are in place to help the market get back into its stride, and stamp duty savings and competitive mortgages rates are already enticing buyers and sellers to the market and upping demand,’ he said. ‘This is good news for the wider housing recovery, which at the moment is still largely restricted to the South East as many other regions have a long way to go before they are within sights of the towering annual growth witnessed in the capital. In these places, access to Help to Buy and more affordable properties are the key stimulants invigorating demand at the entry level,’ he pointed out. He also pointed out that on a monthly basis, the London market is back to more reasonable conditions after the whirlwind of last year, allowing buyers some valuable let up from cut throat market conditions. ‘A greater supply of properties on the market is music to the ears of London home buyers, and this optimism is feeding into a healthy demand. A feel good factor at the culmination of the general election should get the top tiers of the property market moving again as the uncertainty clears, and this is likely to mitigate any shortfall in the meantime,’ he added. According to Nick Leeming, chairman of Jackson Stops & Staff, the statistics reflect market sentiment from two to three months ago, when the London market was cooling but the country market relatively stable. ‘It is not surprising therefore that, while London showed an annual increase of 12%, January’s figures showed a small decrease and this… Continue reading
Lending for home in Wales up 9% in 2014, latest data shows
House purchase lending in Wales increased by 9% last year with a consistent performance throughout 2014, according to the latest data from the Council of Mortgage Landers. First time buyers in Wales borrowed £330 million in the fourth quarter, unchanged compared to the third quarter in value but up 3% in number of loans. Compared to the fourth quarter of 2013, total number of loans was unchanged but the amount borrowed increased by 3%. The number of home movers loans declined quarter on quarter to 3,700, valued at £500 million, which was down 3% in volume and down 2% in value compared to the third quarter. Compared to the fourth quarter of 2013, there was a decrease of 8% in volume and down 2% in value. Remortgage lending increased quarter on quarter in the fourth quarter to 3,200 loans worth £330 million, up 3% in volume but unchanged in value on the third quarter. Compared to the fourth quarter of 2013, activity was down 16% in volume and 13% in value. In 2014 as a whole Wales accounted for 2.8% of the UK wide house purchase activity, down from 2.9% in 2013, the CML data also shows. First time buyer affordability changed slightly in Wales quarter on quarter with first time buyers typically borrowing 3.19 times their gross income, less than the 3.23 income multiple in the third quarter and less than the UK average of 3.38. The typical loan size for first time buyers was £100,625 in the fourth quarter, down from £100,800 in the previous quarter. The typical gross income of a first-time buyer household was £31,930 compared to £31,868 in the third quarter. The relatively low level of interest rates saw first time buyers' payment burden remaining relatively low in the third quarter at 17.9% of gross income being spent to cover capital and interest payments, higher the third quarter's 18.2%. Home mover affordability changed fractionally, with home movers typically borrowing 2.76 times their gross income compared 2.79 in the third quarter and to 3.03 for the UK overall. The typical loan size for home movers was £123,356 in fourth quarter, up from £121,928 in the previous quarter. The typical gross household income of a home mover was £45,310 in fourth quarter compared to £46,032 in the third quarter. Home movers' payment burden remained relatively low in Wales at 17.2% of gross income being spent to cover monthly capital and interest payments, less than the 17.5% in the third quarter and considerably less than the 18.4% UK average. ‘The Welsh market performed consistently over the last three quarters, with roughly the same number of borrowers each quarter taking out loans to buy a home. Improving wider economic conditions, aided by government schemes like Help to Buy, saw the strongest annual house purchase figures in Wales since 2007,’ said Peter Hughes, chair of CML Cymru. ‘Unlike the UK overall, Wales has also seen remortgage loans increase this quarter. This growth across the different lending… Continue reading
UK rental market returns to growth, latest rental index shows
Residential rents for new tenancies in the UK increased by 2.5% during first month of the year, according to the latest figures to be published. It means that the rental market has returned to growth with nine out of 12 regions covered by the HomeLet rental index reporting rising rents, taking the average rent in the UK to £889 or £707 excluding Greater London. The figures show the highest growth occurring in the East Midlands, Scotland and East Anglia with rents rising 6.2%, 5.7% and 5% respectively. Only the North East of England, Northern Ireland and the West Midlands have seen a decline in rental prices,’ the index data also shows. Overall the index report says that after a period of seasonal adjustment towards the end of 2014, which saw rental prices falling in many parts of the country, the rental market has started 2015 with a return to growth. The average rent in the UK is now £889, compared to £867 at the end of 2014, and £799 in January 2014. A breakdown of the figures show that the average rent in the East Midlands is now £617, a monthly rise of 6.2% and an annual increase of 7.2%. In Scotland it is £651, a month on month rise of 5.7% and year on year up 9.4%. East Anglia has seen a monthly rise of 5% but year on year average rents are up only 1.6%, taking the average to £762 while in the South West the average is £830, up 3.5% month on month and up 10.2 compared with January 2014. Yorkshire and Humber has seen rents rise by 3.2% month on month and 10.1% year on year to £613. Greater London has seen the steepest rise with average rents reaching £1,425 in January, up 2.3% month on month and an annual rise of 13.4% while other regions have seen more muted rise with Wales seeing a month on month rise of 2.3% and an annual rise of just 1% to an average of £586. The North West saw a month on month rise of just 0.8% and an annual rise of 5% taking average rents to £650 while the South East was up 0.7% month on month but over 12 months average rents were up 4.2% to £873. Everywhere else saw rents fall month on month, down 1.1% in the West Midlands to £635 but the region has seen rents rise by 4.8% year on year. In North East they were down 2.6% month on month to £518 but up 2.6% year on year. Northern Ireland has had the poorest performing rental sector. Average rents were down 0.5% to £556 and down 2.3% year on year, the only annual decline in the whole of the UK. Continue reading
