Tag Archives: european
Property prices in England and Wales up for second month in row to new record
The price of UK properties being put up for sale has increased for the second month in a row by 0.1% taking the average price to a new record high of £294,542, the latest index figures show. But there has been a sharp drop in the number of new sellers, adding to an already diminishing supply of homes for sales and a shortage of people trading up, according to the July market report from Rightmove. Year on year prices are up 5.1% but the headline figures hide considerable regional variations. In Wales prices are down 1.7% year on year but up 1.5% month on month, taking the average price to £177,280. Annual growth is small in the North East at 0.9% but monthly growth is 2.1%, taking the average price to £147,251. In the West Midlands annual price growth is 3.2%, taking the average price of a home to £200,129 but the region saw a 0.5% fall month on month. In neighbouring East Midlands average prices have climbed 7.4% year on year and 1.2% month on month, to an average of £313,255. The South West has also seen prices fall month on month, down 0.6% but prices are still up 2.9% year on year to an average of £286,155. Elsewhere in the south growth has been largely positive. In the South East prices are up 5.8% year on year and 0.4% month on month to £386,988 and in Greater London they are up 7.8% year on year but down slightly by 0.2% month on month to £615,115. The East Midlands, the North West and Yorkshire and Humber, areas where price growth has struggled to keep up with other parts of the country, have seen positive growth. In the East Midlands prices are up 4.2% year on year and 0.7% month on month to £190,192 and in the North West they are up 2.7% year on year and 0.1% month on month to £176,277. Meanwhile in Yorkshire and the Humber average prices have increased by 2% year on year and by 0.8% month on month to an average of £172,412. Indeed, the number of new sellers is down 10.6% compared to 2014 and this comes at a time when demand is high. Rightmove reports that visits and enquiries to agents are both up 22% on last year. The shortage is most acute for smaller homes with two bedrooms or fewer, where Rightmove sees the biggest demand in excess of supply. According to Miles Shipside, director and housing market analyst at Rightmove, the drop in new homes for sale could be due to the onset of the seasonal summer slowdown, and buyers’ constraints in affording record prices. He said that the latter underlines the need for more new build homes that are affordable, of the right type and in the right locations and emphasises the importance of the recent government announcement on speeding up residential planning permissions aimed at boosting supply. ‘Another month, and… Continue reading
Almost half of UK renters will never get on the property ladder, poll suggests
Some 44% of renters in the UK believe they will never own their own home with not being able to afford a deposit the most common reason for not getting on the property ladder. Just 2% of renters plan on getting on the property ladder this year, according to an independent survey for construction and regeneration company Keepmoat. The average house price in England and Wales now stands at £178,000, according to the latest Land Registry figures, although significant regional variations exist. The average price of property in the capital is currently £462,799. Despite houses in the North generally being more affordable, non-homeowners in Liverpool at 62% were the most likely to say they never expect to purchase a property. This was followed by 60% in both Newcastle and Glasgow and 41% in London. Not being able to afford a deposit was by far the most common reason for not getting on the property ladder, cited by 56% of respondents. The pressure of saving a deposit was also the top concern for those hoping to buy a home at 58%, with 61% of this group saying they will be saving their own deposit. Some 38% of home owners polled said it took between two and five years to save for a deposit although it took 13% of those polled up to 10 years to save their deposit. The research also suggests low awareness of the government’s Help to Buy scheme, an initiative that helps people take their first steps on the property ladder. Less than one in three prospective buyers polled said they will be using the scheme, with 38% claiming they don’t know what the scheme is. ‘It’s clear that the amount of money first time buyers need to raise for a deposit continues to stop many from getting on the property ladder. However, we were surprised that the results show Londoners are more confident about owning a home than those in other cities, particularly in the North,’ said Dave Sheridan, chief executive of Keepmoat. ‘There is plenty of assistance available for buyers in the form of the Help to Buy scheme and help is available when saving for a deposit with the Help to Buy ISA,’ he added. Continue reading
Average new tenancy monthly rental rate in UK almost £1,000, latest index shows
The average rent on a new tenancy in UK cities in the second quarter of the year reached £956 a month or £747 excluding London, according to the latest home rental index. But in London alone it is £1,515 a month, some 10.1% higher than a year ago. The HomeLet rental index also shows that there have been increases in every region compared to a year ago. London is not alone in experiencing double digit rent price growth. While the majority of UK regions saw rent prices increase by less than 10% in the three months to June 2015, both the South East and South West of England saw rent prices rise by 11%. The index report has also analysed the movement of people who privately rent property, to and from the top UK cities by population. These new findings reveal detailed information including where tenants new to the area account for the largest proportion of new rental agreements. In the year to June 2015, the city with the highest percentage of new tenancies being signed by people moving into the area was Wakefield, with 28% of new tenancies being signed by people moving to the city from elsewhere in the UK. It was closely followed by Coventry and Brighton. The figures also show how the movement of tenants has changed since the recession began in 2008 and how prices have changed. Since then average monthly rents have increased by 51% in London, by 25% in Brighton and by 21% in Coventry. The data shows that certain parts of the UK are registering a significant proportion of new tenancies from people moving to the area. In Wakefield and Coventry, for example, more than a quarter of tenancies signed over the past 12 months were taken on by people moving to these cities. These are not necessarily the locations registering the largest quantity of incomers by number; however, they are the cities to which more people are moving as a proportion of new tenancies signed. Some cities have seen significant increases in the proportion of new tenancies being signed by incomers to the area, since the recession. Wakefield and Coventry have seen these figures rise by 7% and 4% respectively since 2007/2008. However, it is Greater London that has seen the largest increase, with 18% of new tenancies signed by people moving in to the capital to rent, compared with 11% in 2007/2008. Movement out of the capital has also reduced since the recession, with the number of new tenancies signed outside of London by people who have left the capital dropping by 5% Since 2007/2008 from 17% to 12%. The index also reveals the UK cities in which tenants are most likely to choose to stay, by analysing the proportion of tenancies being signed by people who have previously lived elsewhere in the same city. It… Continue reading
