Tag Archives: europe
Concerns voiced about new simplified tenancies bill in Scotland
Simplified residential tenancies are now being introduced in Scotland but experts warn that more needs to be done to maintain supply in the private rented sector and attract more investment. Scottish Housing Minister Margaret Burgess said the changes outlined in the Private Tenancy Bill will give tenants greater security and stability in their home and community. ‘It will also give landlords reassurance that their tenants will treat their property as a long term home, rather than somewhere temporary,’ she pointed out. ‘The private rented sector is changing. It is now home to a growing number of people in Scotland, and we recognise there are some areas where rents are increasing significantly. It is right and responsible to give local authorities the ability to introduce rent controls in order to ease areas under pressure,’ she added. The Scottish Association of Landlords said there while there is a broad agreement that the rental regime in the private rented sector needed to be modernised as part of a drive to increase standards and protect tenants, there are concerns that it could harm investment in a sector which is said to have a key role to play in solving Scotland's long term housing crisis. ‘We have particular concerns about measures such as rent controls, as well as removing the right of a landlord to end a lease naturally, subject to a reasonable notice period,’ said SAL chief executive John Blackwood. ‘While we understand the political pressure to tackle rent rises in hotspots such as Aberdeen and Edinburgh, we are concerned these measures could harm investor confidence and drive landlords out of the market, leaving a vacuum that could be filled with less than scrupulous individuals,’ he explained. ‘The way to reduce rent levels in a sustainable manner is to increase housing supply, not punishing landlords that are investing tens of thousands of pounds in their properties,’ he added. According to Scottish Land & Estates the sector also needs to attract new investment, especially in rural areas. Its members are at the forefront of supplying rural housing across the country, many at affordable rents, and the organisation said there were many positive elements to the Bill but that certain elements could impact on rural housing supply. ‘We welcome the degree of clarity that the introduction of the Bill has provided and we can see that there are many positive elements to the government’s proposals. The simplification of the tenancy regime is something that we have long argued for and it is pleasing that the Scottish Government has made a concerted effort to address the need for reform,’ said Katy Dickson, policy officer for business and property at Scottish Land & Estates. She explained that the introduction of a single notice to leave system, with robust and reasonable grounds on which to end a tenancy is to be welcomed, and increased notice periods will hopefully address many of the concerns regarding security and certainty raised during the… Continue reading
Irish property prices continue to see sustained growth
Property prices in Ireland increased nationwide by 2.3% in August and are up 9.5% compared to a year ago, the latest official data shows. In Dublin property prices rose by 2.8% in August and were 8.2% higher than in August 2014. A breakdown shows that house prices are rising faster than apartments at 3% and 0.3% respectively. However, the index report from the Central Statistics Office says 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. In the rest of Ireland, excluding Dublin, prices rose by 1.9% in August and were up 10.8% compared with August 2014. This means that at a national level residential property prices were 35.4% lower than their peak level in 2007 and excluding Dublin residential prices were 38.7% lower than their highest level in 2007. In Dublin house prices were 34.4% lower than the peak, apartment prices 40.4% lower and Dublin residential property prices overall 36.2% lower than their highest level. However, there are concerns that house prices are growing too fast. The Irish economy grew by a Eurozone record of 7.2% in the second quarter and according to the Organisation for Economic Development and Coordination (OECD) is set to grow by 5% overall in 2015 and 4% in 2016. But the OECD is concerned that rapidly rising house prices still pose one of the biggest risks to financial stability and an uncontrolled property boom would ‘increase vulnerabilities, especially if it were associated with further indebtedness’. Its latest review says that such strong price rises may again spark a reinforcing spiral of higher property prices and credit leading to another misalignment of property prices and eventual burst that causes large losses in the banking sector. ‘To avoid repeating past mistakes, now is the time to build resilience against future nasty surprises while ensuring the recovery is sustained, and its benefits broadly shared,’ said Angel Gurría, secretary general of the OECD. The OECD suggested that the Irish government should take measures to cool the market, such as avoiding subsiding first time buyers and encouraging growth in the rental market. Continue reading
Residential sales fall in Hong Kong but prices holding up, latest research shows
Residential sales in Hong Kong fell almost 30% in one month as weak demand hit the property market but prices are still going up, the latest data shows. Figures from the Land Registry shows a 27.8% drop in transactions in August from the previous month and according to international real estate firm Knight Frank this was due to weakened demand caused by the slump in both the Mainland and local stock markets. However, home prices still recorded minor growth, due to strong end user demand and Knight Frank expects prices to remain firm for the rest of the year. Indeed the firm is predicting that at the top end luxury property prices are likely to grow between 2% and 5% this year while the rest of the market could see price growth of 5% to 8%. Residential land prices also remained firm, with the asking land premium for Lohas Park phase eight in Tseung Kwan O hitting a record high for a residential project in the area at HK$2.955 billion, or an accommodation value of HK$2,830 per square foot. The latest analysis report from Knight Frank suggest that the primary sector remained the market focus, with developers active in launching new flats and offering beneficial packages, including discounts and second mortgages. For example, discounts of 10% to 20% were offered for the latest batch of units at High Park Grand in Mong Kok. In Aspen Crest in Diamond Hill, meanwhile, second mortgages worth 30% of the total purchase price were offered, meaning homebuyers only needed to pay a 10% down payment. A breakdown of the figures in the Knight Frank report show that in the prime property market prices have held up but rents have fallen in some locations. In The Peak district prices were flat month on month but are 5.2% higher than August 2014. Prices were also flat in Island South month on month but up 2.6% year on year. Mid-Levels saw month on month price growth of 0.3% and year on year of 8.1%, Jardine’s Lookout/Happy Valley also saw month on month growth of 0.3% and annual growth of 9.8% while Pokfulam recorded monthly price growth of 0.1% and year on year growth of 9.5%. In the prime rental market there has been little growth. In The Peak rents fell 0.2% compared to July and are flat compared to August 2014, while in Island South rents are also flat compared to a year ago and down 0.3% month on month. Mid-Levels has seen growth of 0.5% year on year but rental prices were flat month on month, Jardine’s Lookout/Happy Valley has seen rents fall 0.2% month on month but up 0.2% year on year and in Pokfulam rents are flat month on month and up 0.5% year on year. Continue reading
