Tag Archives: crisis
UK govt already agreed to buy over 350 properties affected by high speed rail link
The UK government has now agreed to buy over 350 properties along the route of the new High Speed rail link from London to Birmingham. They are affected property owners who have served Statutory Blight notices or applied via the Express Purchase Scheme. This makes clear the government’s commitment to acquire a significant amount of the property required for the construction of HS2 before the necessary legislation enabling the railway has even passed through parliament. However, even when the government has accepted a Statutory Blight notice, care should be taken when negotiating a final settlement, according to experts at independent property consultants Knight Frank. James Del Mar, head of Knight Frank’s HS2 Team, pointed out that compulsory purchase and compensation legislation is complex. ‘Those facing Compulsory Acquisition or making a Statutory Blight or other compensation claim are entitled to be represented by properly qualified professionals. HS2 will meet those professionals’ reasonable fees incurred in assisting claimants,’ he said. He explained that the ‘disturbance’ aspect of a claim, for example, has a multitude of facets. ‘As well as the value of the property, which needs to be evidenced by reference to actual market transactions, there is the Home Loss Payment of a further 10% capped at £47,000 or a business loss payment for those that aren’t home owners,’ he said. ‘There is the Stamp Duty Land Tax, itself a significant sum, the removal costs and all other associated expenses which can be considerable. In many cases HS2 are hoping to settle on a full and final basis and are leaving little ability for claimants to come back if they’ve forgotten something,’ he added. Knight Frank has a dedicated team of Compulsory Purchase and compensation specialists with over 100 years’ experience between them. The team has a 100% success rate in its dealings with HS2 with all fees being directly paid by HS2. ‘It’s an enormously stressful event and taking the comfort in the form of professional advice is one way of diffusing some of that emotion and receiving the reassurance that HS2’s proposal is correct and appropriate,’ said Del Mar. Continue reading
UK landlords predict slower annual rent rises
Landlords in the UK expect rent rises to slow over the next 12 months to below the target rate of inflation, according to a the latest survey from lettings agent network Your Move and Reeds Rains. On average, landlords estimate that rents will increase by 1.8% in the next year. This is lower than the Bank of England’s 2% target for inflation, and would also represent a slowdown on the current pace of annual rent growth. The latest Buy to Let Index from Your Move and Reeds Rains reported that average residential rents across the UK are rising at an annual rate of 2.4%. The majority of landlords polled do not intend to raise their rents in the next year, however 43% expect to raise rents and of those 57% cite covering the cost of inflation as their main motivation. Paying for maintenance work is the second most significant reason, listed by 31% of landlords. Over the last six months, 41% of landlords report seeing a rise in tenant demand. This comes as lettings activity has been growing, with new tenancies agreed across England and Wales up by 6.9% compared to August 2013. Tenant demand has helped reduce average void periods in the private rented sector, ensuring greater stability of income for landlords. In the past year, 18% of landlords have already added to their portfolio of rental properties. This appears to be inspiring confidence among property investors with 21% of landlords believing that now is a good time to invest in buy to let. Of those who report it is currently a prime time to purchase a rental property, 55% cited tenant demand as a key motivation for investment. Attractive property prices are the second biggest driver, reported by 54% of landlords, while 45% pointed to better capital returns on offer compared to other forms of investment. The proportion of landlords who expect tenant demand to increase further now stands at 63%, up from 56% in January. Only 5% of landlords currently anticipate a fall in demand for rental properties over the coming years. As a result, 22% of landlords intend to expand their portfolio over the coming year, an increase from 18% in January 2014. ‘Demand for rented accommodation is climbing, and there’s little sign of this stopping. While Help to Buy and higher LTV lending are enabling first time buyer activity, strong house price growth this year has lifted homeownership a few steps out of reach for many, and the private rented sector remains the safety net supporting those still saving for a deposit. This is in addition to the thousands of people who rely on renting to offer them flexibility and freedom in their working lives,’ said David Newnes, director of Your Move and Reeds Rains. ‘This demand is also powering more supply. Secure house prices and spirited tenant demand are encouraging budding buy to let investors and existing landlords to add to the number of available homes to… Continue reading
Property prices in Ireland up almost 15% in last year
Residential property prices in Ireland have increased by almost 15% in the last 12 months, according to the latest data from the Office of National Statistics. In the year to August, residential property prices at a national level, increased by 14.9%, up from 13.4% in July and an increase of 2.8% recorded in the 12 months to August 2013. Residential property prices rose by 2.3% in the month of August. This compares with an increase of 2% recorded in July and an increase of 0.9% recorded in August of last year. A breakdown of the figures shows that in Dublin residential property prices grew by 3.5% in August and were 25.1% higher than a year ago. Dublin house prices rose by 3.5% in the month and were 24.7% higher compared to a year earlier while apartment prices were 32.6% higher when compared with the same month of 2013. However, and ONS spokesman said that it should be noted that the sub-indices for apartments are based on low volumes of observed transactions and consequently suffer from greater volatility than other series. The price of residential properties in the rest of Ireland rose by 0.8% in August compared with an increase of 0.1% in August of last year. Prices were 5.6% higher than in August 2013. House prices in Dublin are now 39.2% lower than at their highest level in early 2007 and apartments in Dublin are 45.8% lower than they were in February 2007. A separate report by Myhome.ie says the average asking price for a home increased by 1.4% nationwide over the last quarter while in Dublin it rose 3%, taking the average asking price to €193,000. It is the sixth quarter in a row that Dublin has recorded an increase and puts the mix adjusted average asking price in the capital at €263,000, up €8,000 in three months. The annual percentage change for Dublin is 9.6%. Caroline Kelleher from DKM Economic Consultants and author of the report said that a supply problem in Dublin is continuing to drive price increases. ‘There were only 500 completions in the capital in the first quarter and given that the Housing Agency has forecast a requirement of 5,700 units in Dublin alone this year it is clear the current rate of completions falls significantly short. As a result our expectation is that prices will continue to rise over the coming months,’ she explained. The report also highlights a growing value gap between Dublin and elsewhere in the country with a semi-detached house in Cork some 66% cheaper than in Dublin. Continue reading
