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Prime London market sees more first time buyers
More first time buyers are active in the prime London property market with fewer real estate investors in the sector in the first quarter of this year, new research shows. While investors continue to account for the majority of house purchases made across prime London, this margin has narrowed significantly, according to estate agent Marsh & Parsons’ latest London Property Monitor. Some 29% of prime London property purchases were made by an investor in the three months to March 2015, down from 37% at the end of 2014 but first time buyer sales increased from 21% of all purchases in the last quarter of 2014 to 28% in the first quarter of this year. The rise in first-time buyers has caused the number of prime transactions funded by mortgages to jump 17% in the past three months and over the past three months, demand for prime London homes has risen by 20%. As a result, heightened competition for available homes on the market has pushed the ratio of registered buyers per property up from 10 in December 2014 to 12 in March 2014, the data also shows. ‘First time buyers have been riding a wave of fortuitous circumstances recently with almost unheard of mortgage rates, reduced up-front stamp duty costs, and support schemes like the Help to Buy ISA inflating confidence,’ said Peter Rollings, chief executive officer of Marsh & Parsons. ‘Combined with a more accessible pace of property price growth so far in 2015, many more have been able to take the plunge into the property market. Prime London property has always been a bastion of investment, but it’s encouraging to see the drawbridge being lowered for everyday Londoners who live and work in this city,’ he explained. ‘However, there is, and has always been, some aspirational prime central areas that are out of grasp for new buyers, and will remain an investment stronghold. Addresses like Kensington and Chelsea resonate around the world, and will forever entice buyers looking for unparalleled capital returns,’ he added. The report reveals that as a result of this strong demand for starter homes, one bedroom properties in prime London have seen the biggest increase in value over the past 12 months with average values up 5%, compared to 1.7% annual growth across the market as a whole. This means the price of a typical one bedroom property in London has risen by £75 a day over the past year. Similarly, one bedroom properties are highly sought after as buy to let investments, with rents appreciating at the fastest rate of all property types across the capital. The average weekly rent for a one bedroom property has risen 5.8% year on year in more affordable outer prime areas of London, popular with young professional renters. ‘With more and more young professionals climbing onto the property ladder, one bedroom properties have outperformed the market across prime London…. Continue reading
Rents in Scotland continue upwards but still 30% below England and Wales
Residential rents in Scotland accelerated again in March with annual growth of 1.3%, up from 1.1% in February, according to the latest buy to let index. Average monthly rents in Scotland now stand at £539 and they are some 30% lower than the typical rent in England and Wales, the index from lettings agent network Your Move also shows. Total annual returns on rental properties in Scotland reached the highest level on record at 9.7% on average in the 12 months to March 2015, up from 7.2% a year ago. This is equal to £15,000 per property before any mortgage payments or maintenance costs, but taking into account property price growth and void periods between tenants. Buy to let investors in Edinburgh have experienced the strongest annual returns in the last year of 13.4%, equivalent to £27,135 in cash terms. In the month to March, Scottish rents increased 0.3% overall, the strongest monthly uptick witnessed since October 2014, after a winter downtrend. ‘Despite surging demand for homes in the private rented sector, Scottish rents have been treading water in recent months, allowing tenants some valuable breathing space over the winter. Now we’re starting to see growth scale up again in the spring, as the rental cycle starts to gain momentum,’ said Brian Moran, area lettings director at Your Move. ‘But even this is still at very modest levels compared to the rest of the UK with rents rising at less than half the pace as being seen in England and Wales,’ he added. A breakdown of the figures show that on an annual basis, rents have risen across three of five regions in Scotland. In Glasgow and Clyde, rents have seen the biggest increase over the past 12 months, with rents now 3.6% or £19 higher than in March 2014. Edinburgh and the Lothians have experienced a 2.3% jump in rent prices year on year, and the East saw a more modest 0.8% annual rise in rents. Rents have fallen across two regions of Scotland in the last year. The Highlands and Islands witnessed the most significant annual drop, with rents falling 1.9% and in the South of Scotland rents are now 0.1% lower than a year ago. Compared to last month, rents are higher in only two of five Scottish regions. Rents in the South of Scotland saw the biggest monthly uplift in March, but still have the cheapest monthly rents across the country, at £489. Rents in this area have climbed 1.8% since February 2015, as rent growth starts to get back into its stride a long spell of price drops in the latter half of 2014. The only other location to experience a boost in rents in the past month was Glasgow and Clyde, with rents rising 0.3% during March. The majority of regions have witnessed a fall in rents month on month. The steepest drop in rents was in the Highlands and Islands, down 0.6% since February. Edinburgh and the… Continue reading
Prices in Scotland up over 13% year on year, latest official data shows
House prices in Scotland rose by 13.3% in the first quarter of 2015 compared to the same period in the previous year, according to official statistics published by the Registers of Scotland (RoS). The average house price in Scotland from January to March was £173,830, the highest figure recorded for any quarter since RoS began compiling quarterly statistics in 2003. RoS head of data, Hugh Welsh, said Scotland has seen sustained growth in house prices throughout the last 12 months with January to March's figures representing the highest quarterly increase in average prices since 2008. ‘Future sales statistics will determine whether this is a one-off spike in quarter four average prices, or whether this is a trend that will continue,’ he added. All local authorities in Scotland showed a rise in average property prices. The highest percentage rise was in East Lothian, up 28.6% on the same period in the previous year to an average of £248,902. The total volume of sales across Scotland was 16,946, a decrease of 4.7% on the same quarter in the previous year. This is the second consecutive quarter that has seen sales volumes decrease, and is the highest annual decrease in sales volumes since 2012. West Dunbartonshire showed the largest percentage rise in the number of sales, with an increase of 10.6%. The biggest percentage decrease was in Midlothian, which dropped 28.1% to 233 residential house sales. The total value of sales across Scotland registered in the quarter increased by 8% to just under £2.95 billion compared to the previous year. This represents the highest value of sales for this quarter since 2008. The City of Edinburgh recorded both the highest average for the quarter at £260,647, a rise of 21.4% and the highest volume of sales, with 2,123 property sales. It also accounted for Scotland's largest market value with sales of just over £553 million for the quarter, an increase of 29.2% on the previous year. All property types showed an increase in average house price, with semi-detached properties recording the largest increase at 15%. With the exception of detached properties which saw an increase in sales volumes of 9.1%, the volumes of all property types decreases, with flats showing the biggest decrease at 9.1%. CKD Galbraith property consultancy, said its own sales figures largely supported statistics issued today by Registers of Scotland showing a significant growth in the values of property being sold. Simon Brown, partner and head of residential sales at CKD Galbraith, said the firm has continued to experience increased demand, which has also led to rising prices achieved across many areas of the country. ‘Last year was a time of steady growth in the property market, despite some uncertainty around the referendum period. This growth has continued into 2015, and although the introduction of the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax created a slight spike in high end sales at the very start of the year, this will be more readily seen in the next quarter’s… Continue reading
