Tag Archives: europe
Number of buy to let mortgage products available in UK rise significantly
The number of buy to let mortgage products available in the UK increased significantly in the first quarter of 2016, particularly for landlords with a limited company. The introduction of more products targeted at limited company borrowers saw the average product numbers for buy to let mortgages increase from 963 in the final quarter of 2015 to 1,105 in the first three months of 2016. Data from the latest index from Mortgage for Business also shows that remortgages yet again outstripped purchases in all categories with the exception of HMOs, where purchase numbers were slightly higher. ‘With tenants looking for less expensive accommodation and landlords looking for higher yields it is no surprise that the number of HMO purchases has risen in the last quarter,’ said David Whittaker, managing director of Mortgages for Business. ‘Even though remortgage transactions were higher this is not to say purchase numbers were down. All types of residential investment showed a marked increase in the number of purchase transactions as investors rushed to beat the 3% stamp duty surcharge deadline,’ he pointed out. The index report also shows that yields for semi commercial property also rose in the first quarter of 2016 making it the second highest yielding property type. Whittaker predicts that the number of landlords purchasing semi-commercial property is set to rise in the coming months as mixed use properties are technically classed as a commercial premises and as such will not be liable for the 3% stamp duty surcharge. Continue reading
Buy to let borrowing surges in UK, probably due to stamp duty change
Home owners in the UK borrowed £8.7 billion for house purchases in February, up 4% month on month and 21% year on year, according to the data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders. They took out 48,000 loans a rise of 4% compared with January and up 12% on February 2015, the data also shows. First time buyers borrowed £3.4 billion, up 3% on January and 21% on February last year, a total of 22,000 loans, some 3% more month on month and 11% more than a year ago. Home movers borrowed £5.3 billion, up 4% on January and up 20% compared to a year ago. This totalled 26,000 loans, up 4% month on month and up 14% on February 2015. Remortgage activity totalled £4.8 billion, down 17% on January but up 37% compared to a year ago. This came to 28,400 loans, down 15% month on month but up 24% compared to a year ago. Landlords borrowed £3.7 billion in February, unchanged month on month but up 61% year on year. This came to 23,700 loans in total, up 1% compared to January and up 47% compared to February 2015. Paul Smee, director general of the CML, pointed out that there has been substantial increases in house purchase and remortgage activity year on year already in 2016 but warned that this reflects the sluggish market in early 2015, perhaps driven by election uncertainties. ‘Buy to let has also seen substantial year on year increases, with particularly strong growth in remortgaging, a pattern which we have seen in the buy to let sector the past six months,’ he said. ‘Activity has been boosted by landlords seeking to complete purchases before tax changes in April. We do not expect activity to show such strong year on year growth later in the year,’ he added. According to Steve Bolton, founder of Platinum Property Partners, it is significant that three in five buy to let loans are now for remortgage, with the number and value of these loans rising significantly year on year. ‘Landlords are clearly taking advantage of the low rates available on the market, especially as they will soon lose the ability to claim their mortgage interest payments as an allowable business expense,’ he said. He suggested that the 7% monthly increase in the number of buy to let purchase loans is perhaps an early indication of some landlords pushing to complete ahead of the changes to Stamp Duty implemented this month. ‘We expect to see an even greater rush of activity reported for March as landlords seek to complete on purchases,’ he explained. He pointed out that buy to let activity could plummet in the future as the cost of running a buy to let business continues to grow due to recent Government legislation. ‘The introduction of Section 24 of the Finance (No. 2) Act 2015 is a real threat as many landlords in the sector could find themselves… Continue reading
Spanish home sales continue their upward trend with prices also showing signs of recovery
Home sales in Spain have recorded their highest figure for three years having increased by 15.8% in February compared to the same month in 2015. The data from the National Statistics Institute is further evidence that the housing market recovery remains underway after a stutter in January saw transactions fall 2.9% after 16 months in a row of growth. It would appear that the recovery is being led by existing homes rather than new builds. Sales of existing homes increased 21.4% year on year while sales of new homes fell by 0.2%. The data also shows that in the first two months of 2016, home sales increased by 6% compared to the same period in 2015 and again this growth was led by existing homes which saw a rise of 13.7% compared to new home sales falling 15.5% in this period. Andalucía saw the largest number of sales followed by Catalonia, Madrid and Valencia. The lowest number of sales were recorded in La Rioja, Navarre and Cantabria. In relative terms, all of Spain’s regions registered increases in home sales, except for La Rioja and Castilla y León with falls of 8.6% and 3.9%, respectively. The regions where housing transactions increased most were the Basque Country with growth of 50.3%, Asturias up 40% and Cantabria up 38.9%. Meanwhile, data from the latest house price index from property portal Fotocasa shows that the price of existing homes increased by 0.5% in the first quarter of the year to an average of €1,627 per square meter. This seems to confirm that the housing market recovery is now being seen in terms of price growth as it is the first quarterly rise for the first quarter of any year since 2007 when prices increased by 1.6%. On top of this a trend is emerging as the Fotocasa index also recorded quarterly price increases in the second and third quarters of 2015 of 1.1% and 0.7%, respectively. The data also shows a year on year price rise of 0.6% for existing homes in March, the highest annual increase since October 2007, when prices rose by 1.2%. Again, a trend is emerging. Year on year prices increases were recorded in 2015 in July, October and November at 0.1%, 0.1% and 0.3% respectively. Since the peak of the Spanish property market in April 2007 when prices averaged €2,952 per square meter, they have fallen by 44.9% so there is some way to go before values catch up but the initial signs of improvement are there. Quarter on quarter the picture is also positive with eight regions seeing increased prices compared to the last quarter of 2015. This was led by the Canary Islands with growth of 6.3%, the Balearic Islands up 2.2%, Valencia up 1.4%, Andalucía up 1.2%, Madrid up 1%, Catalonia up 0.9%, Navarre up 0.2% and Cantabria up 0.1%. The most expensive house prices are in the Basque Country at €2,736 per square meter, followed by Madrid at €2,225 and Catalonia… Continue reading
