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Few people consider the energy rating of a property when they move in the UK

Just one in 10 people currently consider the energy efficiency rating of a property important when moving house with parking and local amenities considered more important, a new research poll has found. This is despite a poor rating potentially resulting in wasting thousands of pounds worth of energy per year, according to the study from construction and regeneration company, Keepmoat. The energy efficiency rating of a home is found on the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) that is required whenever a property is bought, sold or rented. EPCs not only rate properties between A and G but also include information on how much energy a property uses, typical energy costs and how to reduce energy usage. Among the factors considered more important than a good energy efficiency rating were being close to local amenities for 35.9%, parking for 30%, good transport links for 35.9% and green space for 26%. The only factor on the poll considered less important was investment potential mentioned by 10%. The results suggest that awareness of the importance of energy efficiency is low across all regions of the UK, however, Nottingham was home to the highest percentage of respondents who considered a good rating a priority when moving house at 16%. While people in Edinburgh were least likely to rank energy efficiency as a priority at 4%. ‘For many households, energy bills are one of the biggest expenses and understanding much energy a new house or flat will use, as well as what they can do to reduce these bills, can go a long way to reducing their outgoings,’ said Nigel Banks, sustainability director at Keepmoat. ‘However, the results of our survey clearly show many people are not prioritising the energy efficiency rating of a property when moving home and this could well be a decision they regret when they get their first winter energy bills. People should try and consider the total cost of living in home, including mortgage repayments or rents as well as bills,’ he added out. He also pointed out that buying a new home can also mean a huge reduction in household bills as they are generally six times more energy efficient than older homes. He said that living in a new home can reduce gas and electricity bills by more than £500 per year. Continue reading →

Posted on June 3, 2015 by tsiadmin | Posted in Investment, investments, London, News, Property, Real Estate, Shows, Taylor Scott International, TSI, Uk | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Few people consider the energy rating of a property when they move in the UK

Capital city property prices down, but expected to be short lived blip

After an increase in values of 3.8% over the first four months of the year, prices in key Australian cities fell 0.9% in May, according to the latest residential index. The CoreLogic RP Data Home Value Index recorded its first month on month fall since November last year and it comes at a time when values have been trending higher. According to CoreLogic RP Data head of research, Tim Lawless, the growth has been driven by exceptionally strong housing market conditions in Sydney, and to a lesser extent in Melbourne and he expects May’s dip to be short lived. ‘Other market indicators are also pointing to stronger conditions for the Sydney and Melbourne housing markets with auction clearance rates remaining at or close-to record highs throughout May along with low advertised stock levels across the largest cities, particularly for Sydney,’ he said. ‘The negative May result is likely due to a natural correction from the previously strong month on month results. Added to this is the market stimulus due to lower interest rates, and a well-received federal budget in May, all of which are likely to keep momentum going in the market,’ Lawless explained. The May indices results also marks the three year anniversary for the current growth cycle which commenced at the end of May 2012. Since that time, Lawless noted that capital city dwelling values have increased by 24.2% with Sydney values rising a significant 39.3% since values bottomed out in May 2012. Melbourne dwelling values have seen the second highest rate of growth over the current cycle, increasing by 22.4% while in Darwin, values are 18.3% higher. Perth values are up 13.2% followed by Brisbane at 10.6%, Adelaide at 9.9%, Canberra at 8.3% and Hobart at 7.7%. ‘While every capital city has seen some level of capital gain over the growth cycle to date, the past 12 months’ performance has been more diverse. Dwelling values are down by 2% in Darwin and 1% lower in Hobart, while Perth is narrowly avoiding an annual correction with dwelling values up by just 0.7% over the past year,’ Lawless said. At the same time, he added that lower interest rates and high levels of investor interest have fuelled a rebound in the annual rate of dwelling value growth across Sydney and Melbourne where dwelling values are 15% and 9% higher respectively over the past 12 months,’ he pointed out. Both Sydney and Melbourne are also seeing their strongest economic conditions, coupled with the highest levels of new housing supply, particularly in the new apartment sector and according to Lawless the higher supply levels are likely to be a primary reason why unit values are rising at a much slower pace than house values in Sydney and Melbourne. ‘The pace of growth in unit values across Sydney is about half that being recorded across the detached housing sector, with house values up 16.4% over the year compared with an 8.8% rise in unit values,’ said Lawless. In… Continue reading →

Posted on June 2, 2015 by tsiadmin | Posted in Investment, investments, London, News, Property, Real Estate, Shows, Taylor Scott International, TSI, Uk | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Capital city property prices down, but expected to be short lived blip

Research finds millions of older UK home owners want to downsize

There are millions of family homes in the UK that are under occupied and where the owners would like to downsize, according to new research. In the so-called last timer buyer market, some 5.3 million properties are under occupied and of these 3.3 million would like to move, says the analysis released by Legal & General and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr). These last time buyers are sitting on the equivalent of 2.6 million family homes, representing 10 years of housing supply based on Government targets or 20 years based on current housing completions, the report says. As such, the LTB market owns 7.7 million spare bedrooms and a total of £820 billion of housing wealth, set to reach £1.2 trillion in 2020. Some 32% of these older home owners considered downsizing in the last five years but only 7% actually did. The most common reason for considering downsizing by over 55s is that their property no longer meets their needs. Many older home owners allow inertia to keep them in their current home which is no longer fit for purpose and which is expensive to maintain. This is a particular issue for older home owners, many of whom don’t work, the report suggests. Many of the over 55s and 63% of those with at least two spare bedrooms do intend to move, but all too often, they leave it late. More than half believe that it will be best to wait until they are over 70 before moving, and a quarter will wait until 80. ‘This is an overlooked sector of the residential market. Given its scale and the receptiveness of this demographic to the possibilities of downsizing, it presents a powerful tool for addressing the housing supply issues this country faces. By failing to target this key demographic with good value, purpose built housing for those aged 55 plus, Government and industry alike are missing an important trick,’ said Paul Stanworth, managing director of Legal & General Capital. The report points out that the UK suffers from a chronic undersupply of age specific housing. Demos, among others, has noted that only 2% of the UK's housing stock is retirement property, housing just 1% of the 14 million Britons in their 60s compared with around 17% living in retirement accommodation in the United States. All too often, this leads to older people living in homes that do not suit their needs, with moves often forced by circumstance rather than being a positive choice. According to Bill Hughes, managing director of Real Assets at Legal & General Investment Management, bringing about multi-faceted financial and social benefits, the provision of safer, well designed accommodation that meets the needs of older people would not only ease pressures on the health and social care system, but free up savings locked up in housing for other uses, boost the UK economy and bring significant wellbeing outcomes for older people. The research found that the… Continue reading →

Posted on June 2, 2015 by tsiadmin | Posted in Investment, investments, London, News, Property, Real Estate, Shows, Taylor Scott International, TSI, Uk | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Research finds millions of older UK home owners want to downsize