Tag Archives: europe
New home building in UK up 6% year on year but below target
The number of newly built homes in the UK has increased 6% in the past year, according to the latest house building data from the government. Some 139,030 new homes were completed in the year to June and have continued to build gradually over the last two years, according to the figures from the Department of Local Government and Communities. The data also shows that more than 144,280 homes were started in the year to June 2016 but the figures are still below the current target of 220,000 that are needed to meet the housing crisis. Communities Secretary Sajid Javid admitted that more needs to be done. ‘We’ve got the country building again with more new homes started and built than this time last year. This is real progress but there is much more to do. That’s why we are going further and increasing our investment in house building to ensure many more people can benefit,’ he explained. A breakdown of the figures show strong regional growth in London, Swindon and Wakefield, which are all experiencing high levels of completions. Delivery in London saw 24% more homes being built in the year to June 2016 than the previous year with local authorities in Greenwich and Waltham Forest seeing completions increase by 126% and 103% respectively over the same period while in Swindon and Wakefield completions were up 104% and 41% respectively. Figures published last year show that the total number of new homes across the country rose by 25% in 2014 to 2015, when taking in to account all homes, including new builds, houses that have been converted into flats and buildings whose use has been changed to residential. Javid pointed out that the government is committed to building the homes the country needs and investing £8 billion to build 400,000 more affordable homes to rent and buy. He also pointed out that the new Housing and Planning Act will help deliver the ambition to build a million more homes by ensuring councils continue to play a key role in delivery, and through new measures that will allow them to deliver more homes more swiftly. On a quarterly basis, house building starts in England were estimated at 36,400 in the latest quarter, a 2% increase compared to the previous three months and 6% up on a year earlier while completions were estimated at 34,920, some 7% higher than the previous quarter but 2% lower than a year ago. Annual housing starts totalled 144,280 in the year to June 2016, up by 2% compared with the year to June 2015. During the same period, completions totalled 139,030, an increase of 6% compared with last year. Private enterprise housing starts were 4% higher in the June quarter 2016 than the previous quarter whereas completions were 3% higher. Starts by housing associations were 6% lower compared to the last quarter and completions 29% higher. All starts are now 112% above the trough in the March quarter of… Continue reading
First time buyers keep UK mortgage lending going in second quarter 2016
Home buyers in London borrowed £5.5 billion in the second quarter of 2016, down 23% compared to the previous quarter and down 3% year on year, the latest data shows. It was first time buyers who kept the market going in London, borrowing 10% more while those remortgaging borrowed less, the figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) shows. They also increased in Scotland and Wales. Overall borrower took out 17,500 loans, down 17% on the previous quarter and 8% compared to the second quarter 2015 but first time buyers borrowed £3 billion, up 3% on the first quarter and 10% compared to the second quarter last year. This equated to 10,800 loans, up 3% quarter on quarter but down 1% year on year. Home movers borrowed £2.5 billion, down 41% on quarter one this year and 14% compared to a year ago. This equated to 6,700 loans, down 37% quarter on quarter and 18% year on year. The figures also show that remortgage activity totalled £4.3 billion, up 6% on the first quarter 2016 and 29% compared to a year ago. This came to 14,200 loans, up 5% quarter on quarter and 19% compared to a year ago. ‘First time buyers have continued to drive mortgage lending in London, with 10% more first time buyer lending in the second quarter than the first. The opposite is true for home movers, probably just reflecting a rebalancing after the very strong first quarter as many buyers sought to complete purchases before changes to stamp duty,’ said Paul Smee, director general of the CML. ‘The second quarter data largely pre-dates the European Union referendum. While it will take time to see how Brexit may affect the market, the London mortgage market clearly remains active and firmly open for business,’ he added. First time buyers were also key in Scotland, borrowing £920 million, up 42% quarter on quarter and 2% year on year, some 8,500 loans, up 39% quarter on quarter and 4% year on year. Home movers borrowed £1.2 billion, up 11% quarter on quarter but down 5% compared to a year ago. This totalled 8,100 loans, up 11% quarter on quarter but down 9% year on year. Remortgage activity totalled £850 million, up 9% both on the first quarter 2016 and the second quarter 2015. This came to 7,100 loans, up 11% quarter on quarter and 4% year on year. Carol Anderson, CML Scotland chair, pointed out that it is the 19th successive quarter of growth in first time buyers compared to a year earlier and the highest quarterly number of first time buyer loans since the middle of 2007. In Wales first time buyers borrowed £420 million, up 31% on the first quarter and 24% on the same period last year. This totalled 3,800 loans, up 31% quarter on quarter and 19% year on year. Home movers borrowed £490 million, down 6% on the first quarter of the year but unchanged compared… Continue reading
UK rents up 2.4% in 12 months to July 2016, latest index shows
Rents in the UK’s private rental sector increased by 2.4% in the 12 months to July 2016, unchanged compared with the year to June 2016, according to the latest index data. The figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) shows that rental prices grew by 2.6% in England, 0.2% in Scotland and were unchanged in Wales. Rental prices increased in all the English regions over the year to July 2016, with rental prices increasing the most in the South East at 3.5%, up from 3.4% in June 2016, followed by the East of England at 3.1% and London at 3%, both unchanged from June 2016. Annual rental growth in the South East has surpassed that of London since May 2016. Since the beginning of 2012, English rental prices have shown annual increases ranging between 1.4% and 3% year on year, with July 2016 rental prices being 2.6% higher than July 2015 rental prices. Excluding London, England showed an increase of 2.3% for the same period. The lowest annual rental price increases were in the North East, up 0.9% and up from 0.8% in June 2016, the North West up 1.2% and Yorkshire and The Humber up 1.3%, both unchanged when compared with June 2016. But the lack of movement in Wales meant that rents continue to be well below that of England and the average for the country as a whole while rental growth in Scotland has gradually slowed to 0.2% in the year to July 2016, from a high of 2.1% in the year to June 2015. Looking at data from the UK House Price Index over a longer period shows residential house price growth has typically been stronger than rental price growth for a number of years, with an average 12 month rate of house price inflation between January 2013 and June 2016 of 6%, compared with 2.1% for rental prices. Inflation in the rental market is likely to have been caused by demand in the market outpacing supply, says the ONS report which points out that the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Residential Market Survey reported an increase in demand in the three months to July, while tenant demand increased in June according to the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA). On the supply side, RICS reported that new landlord instructions were flat in July and ARLA reported that the supply of rental stock bounced back in June 2016, following a sharp drop in May. It points out that rental prices have been growing at a slightly faster rate than real wages in recent months. Regular pay also grew by 2.3% in the three months to June 2016 compared with the same period last year, continuing a revival of real earnings growth. The annual jump in private rental prices is a stark reminder of the struggles that many people living in private rented homes are facing in saving a deposit to buy their first home, according to Richard Connolly,… Continue reading
