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New UK housing zones widely welcomed
Twenty areas across the UK have been selected as the country’s first Housing Zones amid a pledge to build hundreds of thousands of new homes in the next five years, including more affordable properties. In the annual Budget Statement it was also announced that in London there will be nine new housing generation areas with the aim of building 28,000 new homes on brown field and public sector land. A London Land Commission will be created and tasked with identifying the best places to build and there will be strong incentives to dispose of public land for housing use. The government also announced that it wants communities to have a strong say over how their local area is developed. It confirmed it will support locally led plans for two more Garden Communities at Basingstoke and North Northants. The British Property Federation, an early supporter of housing zones, welcomed the plans. ‘Spending cuts have meant that support for brown field development all but disappeared during the recession. Housing Zones are welcome recognition that we can deliver significant amounts of desperately needed housing on brown field land, but that this will often need both central government support and clarity of purpose at local level,’ said chief executive Melanie Leech. Any building that takes place on brown field sites, rather than in open countryside must be welcome, according to Edward Heaton of Heaton and Partners property search agency who pointed out that around the UK and even in London it is surprising how many potential sites remain unlocked because of planning policy. But he pointed out that extra funding for new homes will not completely solve the housing crisis. Alison Platt, chief executive of Countrywide, one of the largest property services group in the UK, wants the government to go further. ‘Our analysis shows that there is land for 500,000 homes within walking distance of the train stations in the greenbelt around our cities. We ask the government to review the greenbelt with a vision to freeing up appropriate land for development,’ she said. ‘Last week we put forward 10 proposals to make the property market work better. We believe there is not yet enough clarity in the debate to impact policy and see structural shifts in both the residential and commercial property markets. We want to encourage debate around these proposals and any other solutions to our property market troubles, to get to a position where real positive change is possible,’ she added. According to Rick de Blaby, chief executive of London developer United House Developments, said that cutting the red tape strangling London development is key to this announcement. ‘The Chancellor and the Mayor need to ensure that the delivery of public sector land and brownfield sites to developers is backed by an efficient, lean machine to free up this land to avoid the delays currently snarling up the system,’ he explained. Nicholas Leeming, chairman of national estate agents,… Continue reading
Average house prices in Scotland reach new peak with 1% monthly rise
Average house prices in Scotland increased by 1% or £1,600 in January, surpassing the May 2008 peak, according to the latest index data. Year on year prices are up 4.5%, taking the average home price to £166,771, a new record, but sales were down 44% compared to December, double the typical seasonal downturn. It means that the average home in Scotland is now worth £1,238 more than at the peak of the housing boom in May 2008, following the most significant monthly upswing for seven months, says the report from Your Move. Dundee saw the biggest prices jump with property prices increasing 6.7% or £8,161, while Fife and West Lothian set new peak house prices with growth of 9.5% and 10.9% respectively. North Ayrshire has experienced the biggest rise in house prices on the mainland over the last year, up 11.6% with the typical price of a detached home growing from £180,000 to £210,000 in the past 12 months. However, average prices have fallen in seven local authorities of Scotland during the past year. West Dunbartonshire has seen the steepest drop in values in the last 12 months, with prices falling 7.2% on average, and flats in the area are now worth £20,000 less than a year ago. In addition, completed house sales in January 2015 were down 44% on December levels, double the usual seasonal downturn, and a 14% fall on a year ago, as home sales drop to the lowest level for 23 months. ‘This shouldn’t be viewed as a bad omen though, as the start of the year is always the slowest time for house purchases in Scotland, and it will only get busier, as the sustained flow of front-end demand flooding into the market starts to translate into end results,’ said Christine Campbell, regional managing director of Your Move. The Scottish housing market is benefitting from the economy moving in the right direction, and employment on the up, while mortgage rates are at rock bottom, according to Campbell. She pointed out that next month’s Land and Buildings Transaction Tax will offer some extra relief to those clambering onto the bottom rungs of the ladder, lowering the stamp duty paid on purchases even further. ‘Greater policy clarity that will emerge after the general election will unleash a new wave of confidence that will outweigh any hesitancy in the market at the moment,’ she added. Continue reading
Fewer loans for first time buyers and home movers in UK
First time buyers in the UK saw a drop in lending in January compared to the previous month and the same month in 2014, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders. There were 19,000 loans advanced to first time buyers January, down 27% on December and 14% compared to January 2014. These loans by value were £2.8 billion, which was down 26% on December and 10% down on January last year. The data also shows that home movers were advanced 22,400 loans, a decline of 24% compared to December and 17% down year on year. These loans totalled in value £4.2 billion, 24% down on December and 14% down compared to January 2014. However, remortgage lending increased month on month with 25,600 loans advanced, up 15% on December but 12% down on January 2014. The value of these loans at £4.1 billion also increased month on month by 21% but was down 5% year on year compared to January 2014. There were 18,200 buy to let loans in January, up 6% on the previous month and up 12% on the same period in 2014. These loans came to £2.5 billion in value, unchanged compared to December but up 14% on January 2014. ‘The traditional beginning of year seasonal lull in lending is slightly more prominent in house purchase lending than in previous years, especially in comparison to the particularly strong levels at the start of 2014,’ said Paul Smee, director general of the CML. ‘Affordability constraints remain a factor for would-be borrowers, but we are still projecting lending to pick up over the next few months. Increases month on month in remortgaging, both for home owners and in the buy to let market, are welcome given the recent static nature of remortgage activity. Interest rates are looking unlikely to go up in the very near future and the greater availability of good mortgage rates has probably motivated people to look at a change,’ he explained. As previously reported, gross mortgage lending reached £14.8 billion in January. This represents an 11% decrease from December’s gross lending total and is 8% lower than lending in January 2014. The CML also pointed out that the data on which the results are based on the Financial Conduct Authority's statutory reporting, which is currently in a transition phase following the implementation of the Mortgage Market Review. As a result this month's data may be subject to greater revisions than usual reflecting the transition arrangements. According to Adrian Gill, director of Your Move and Reeds Rains estate agents, the data shows how the mortgage market has changed its’ spots in the last year. 'Lending has been tamed as new regulations and affordability checks have strengthened the borrowing process. Mortgage brokers are doing a more robust job and buyers are get sturdier solutions at the end of it. Although mortgage approvals are now running at more manageable levels than they were this time last year, the first time buyer market… Continue reading
