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UK election not harming house price sentiment, latest index suggests
Households in the UK perceive that the value of their home rose in April despite the uncertainty being created by the country’s forthcoming general election, the latest sentiment index shows. Some 20.9% of the 1,500 households surveyed across the UK said that the value of their home had risen over the last month, while 4.5% reported a fall, according to the House Price Sentiment Index (HPSI) from Knight Frank and Markit Economics. This gave the HPSI a reading of 58.2, the 25th consecutive month that the reading has been above 50 and a slight increase on last month’s reading of 57.5, suggesting that households believe prices continued to rise in spite of the uncertainty surrounding the outcome of the election. ‘The outcome of the election may be uncertain, but there are some key factors underpinning house prices at present. Confidence in the economy continues to grow while the cost of living has stopped rising,’ said Grainne Gilmore, head of UK residential research at Knight Frank. ‘Mortgage rates have dipped to a new low, making owning a home for those who can clinch a mortgage deal cheaper than at any time before. The cost of buying a home for the majority of purchasers has also fallen after the reform of stamp duty in December last year. A lack of supply of homes for sale in recent months has also boosted prices,’ she explained. The future HPSI, which measures what households think will happen to the value of their property over the next year, also rose in April to 70.2, up from 69.6 in March and the highest reading so far this year. According to Tim Moore, senior economist at Markit, the UK housing market showed resilience in the face of upcoming election uncertainty, with April’s survey highlighting the first back to back monthly rise in house price sentiment for almost a year. ‘Reduced pressure on household finances, improving labour market conditions and low mortgage rates continued to support house price sentiment in April. However, stretched affordability and tighter lending conditions are keeping a lid on house price momentum,’ he said. He pointed out that on a regional basis, people living in the East of England are the most likely to anticipate rising property values over the next 12 months, followed by those living in the South East. Meanwhile, the gap between UK wide house price growth expectations and those in the capital fell to its joint lowest since the start of 2011. The report also shows that some 6.5% of UK households said they planned to buy a property in the next 12 months, up from 5.7% in March. On a regional basis, nearly one in 10 households in Wales is planning a purchase in the next 12 months, followed by those in the East of England where 9.5% of households said they would be buying a property in 2015. Individuals aged between 25 and 34 are more likely to be considering buying a home in… Continue reading
Most tenants fail to get all of their deposit back, new survey finds
The majority of people who’ve rented a property in the UK in the past five years have failed to get their full deposit back after vacating, new research has found. Some 52% of deposits were fully or partially withheld over the past five years, equivalent to more than 400,000 deposits per year and overall 80% of tenants had some degree of trouble getting their deposit back. The survey by London removals company Kiwi Movers also found that cleaning and minor repairs are the most common reasons for withheld deposits, however, 28% of respondents said their landlord delayed returning their deposit despite not making any deductions. Of those who said they experienced difficulties with their landlord when it came to the return of the deposit, 6% lost their entire deposit, the equivalent to 252,000 deposits being fully withheld over the past five years, and 46% lost part of their deposit. Some 20% said they got their full deposit back without any problems while 28% said they managed to get their deposit back in full only after a dispute with the landlord or letting agency. London is the deposit dispute hotspot, with residents in the capital almost twice as likely (11%) as the survey average (6%) to lose their whole deposit, while tenants aged between 18 and 24 living with friends, as opposed to living with a partner or spouse, living alone or with people they didn’t know prior to moving in, are most likely to lose their full deposit. ‘We've seen an increase in customers hiring professional cleaners before checking out of a rented property. It seems to be the only way to counter what they see as the inevitable attempts to withhold part of their deposit,’ said Kiwi Movers director Regan McMillan. ‘Our customers tell us they feel vulnerable unless they have paperwork to prove that they left the property in an acceptable state. Moving is stressful enough without having to worry about having your deposit unfairly withheld,’ he added. Amy Williams, a digital producer from Southampton took her London landlord to court and won after he withheld her deposit. ‘It was only a six month contract and the landlord tried to make us pay for problems that were in the flat when we moved in,’ she explained. ‘The court said it was wear and tear, ordered the landlord to return our deposit and told him that wear and tear was something he’d have to get used to. The landlord also choose to hold the court session not in London but on the south coast. But luckily because we won he had to pay for our train tickets too,’ she added. Daniel Zambas, a Manchester based musician, also took successful legal action against a former landlord. ‘The agent told us the landlord wasn’t going to return our deposit. We successfully challenged this and once we’d had our money… Continue reading
UK regional cities house price growth outperforms central London, says latest index
House prices in larger regional cities in the UK have outperformed central London for the first time since 2005, the latest property index shows. Although central London recorded year on year house price growth of 3% in the first quarter of 2015 the capital’s most expensive boroughs are being eclipsed by growth in large regional cities, according to the UK Cities House Price Index from residential analysts Hometrack. Some 12 of the UK’s largest regional cities have registered higher price rises year on year than Central London including Glasgow with growth of 7.6%, Manchester 6.8% and Leeds 6.6%. Indeed, Kensington and Chelsea and Hammersmith and Fulham have seen price declines of 3.4% and 5.1% respectively amidst uncertainty due to the threat of mansion tax and affordability pressures in the run up to the general election. Newcastle, Sheffield, Manchester, Leeds and Glasgow registered the strongest pick up in house price growth in the first quarter of 2015 as households gain in confidence over the economic outlook and attracted by record low mortgage rates. Together these cities account for 30% of housing stock covered by the Hometrack index and this pick-up in growth is supporting the headline rate of house price growth which was 0.8% in the first three months of the year. Average house prices across the 20 cities included in the index registered growth of 3.8% in the first quarter compared to 3% over the same period in 2014. While the UK picture is polarised by a North/South reversal in house price growth, the London market is divided by its East/West compass points. The balance of house price growth across the index for London has shifted from high value markets driven by international capital to the lower value markets favoured by owner occupiers. Newham, Barking and Dagenham, Greenwich, and Croydon registered 14.2%, 12.5%, 12.4%, and 12.1% growth respectively in the last quarter compared to the same period 12 months ago. The index report says that these boroughs are sustaining the capital’s growth, despite house prices in the affluent central London areas falling. The report also suggests that areas of London that are still undergoing regeneration or are benefiting from new investment have proved popular with owner occupiers priced out of the boroughs favoured by international buyers and investors. The highest year on year growth rate was recorded in Newham and Barking and Dagenham, where average house prices are £275,000 and £215,000 respectively, and track 33% and 50% below the London average of £417,000. ‘House price growth is holding up better than expected as a result of a lack of new supply of homes for sale and record low mortgage rates attracting buyers into the market,’ said Richard Donnell, director of research at Hometrack. ‘Growth in London is still running in double digits and high capital growth rates in recent years have pushed down average loan to values in London, creating further capacity for additional borrowing for households that can pass tighter affordability… Continue reading
