Tag Archives: facebook
UK and US buyers returning to the Italian property market
UK and US buyers are increasingly seeking properties in Italy as the challenging market conditions and currency shifts makes buying a second home even more attractive. According to Rupert Fawcett, a partner in Knight Frank’s Italian team the food, culture, wine and architecture and lifestyle in the country continues to attract overseas buyers. Italy may be still struggling to shake off the Eurozone debt crisis but with the euro significantly weaker against key currencies than a year ago there are deals to be found. ‘Italy continues to face challenging market conditions with Europe again coming under the spotlight recently over its muted economic growth and with some of Italy’s banks faring badly in the latest stress tests,’ said Fawcett. ‘But la dolce vita remains a permanent feature and continues to draw buyers wanting a slice of Italian life. Buying in Italy is primarily a lifestyle choice not driven by short term investment, but longer term enjoyment, and these factors continue to allow the market a certain level of resilience,’ he explained. He has noted increased interest this year in city living with an upturn in enquiries for Rome, Venice, Milan and Florence. ‘Rome has returned positive growth in the last quarter for the first time in several years, Venice is showing increases at the upper end and all cities have seen increased sales activity. We expect prices to remain stable in these locations over the next year, but we do not expect any price increases for at least the next few years,’ he added. In other areas there continues to be pressure on prices due in part to the availability of a large amount of stock which means buyers tend to deliberate for longer when searching for the perfect property. However, Fawcett said correctly priced properties in the best locations are finding good interest and, in some cases, multiple offers. Where vendors remain reluctant to reduce prices buyers are often not even enquiring let alone viewing. There has been a decline in interest from Russian buyers but both British and US buyers are returning to the Italian real estate market. There are fewer Russians at the upper end of the market around the €5 million plus mark and most notably around parts of Sardinia and coastal Tuscany, but there has been an increase in Russian interest at lower price points especially in Liguria. The influence of British and US buyers has also increased as both the pound and dollar strengthen against the euro. British buyers favour properties in Tuscany, Florence and Umbria as well as the Italian Lakes, Rome and Sardinia while US buyers favour properties in the Italian Lakes, Rome and Sardinia. French buyers are number one in Venice and also showing a lot of interest in property in Liguria and Rome. Germany buyers can be found in the Italian Lakes and Umbria while Scandinavian buyers favour Sardinia. For Dutch buyers Liguria, Venice, Tuscany, Florence and Umbria are the most popular. Fawcett pointed out that Milan will host the… Continue reading
Home lending in UK reaches highest quarterly level for seven years
Lending for home buying in the UK has reached its highest quarterly level since 2007, according to the latest data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). However, first time buyers saw a month on month lending decline for the second month in a row, down 3% compared to August, but still 16% up on September 2013. By value, there was £4 billion advanced to first time buyers in September, 2% down on August but 25% higher than September last year. Lending to home movers also weakened month on month for the second month in a row. In September, the number of loans advanced to movers was 31,700, a 10% fall on the previous month but up 11% on September last year. By value, lending to movers totalled £6 billion, 12% down on August but up 18% on September last year. Remortgage lending activity saw an increase month on month in September, with the number of remortgage loans totalling 28,300. This was 20% up on August but 12% down on September last year. The value of these loans at £4.4 billion was up 22% on the previous month but down 6% on September last year. There were 18,100 buy to let loans in September, representing lending of £2.5 billion. Following the August low of 15,700 loans worth £2.2 billion, this returned buy to let lending to levels very similar to July, up 24% by volume and 32% by value on September last year. The data also shows that first time buyer affordability changed fractionally, with first time buyers typically borrowing 3.4 times their gross income, compared to 3.42 in August and the typical loan size for first time buyers rose month on month to £125,999 in September, up from £125,375 in August. Home movers typically borrowed 3.06 times their gross income in September, compared to 3.05 in August. The typical loan size for home movers was £154,800 in September, down from £155,995 in August. The typical gross household income of a home mover was £53,291 in September compared to £54,150 in August. ‘We are approaching the end of 12 months of change, transition and growth. This has been a year when lenders and intermediaries have been put under increased spotlight from regulatory, political and media spheres and have risen to meet the challenges,’ said Paul Smee, director general of the CML. ‘The lending market is healthier than it was a year ago, and set to remain so. Remortgaging has returned as a driver of lending volume in the buy to let sector. But any fears of overheating in the housing market are now dissipating as house purchase lending activity seems to be softening,’ he added. Continue reading
New partnership to create 14,000 new homes in London
A new partnership that is expected to create 14,000 new homes across London and the South East has been welcomed by the Mayor of London's Office. National Grid and Berkeley Group have established a joint venture to develop major residential and mixed use development schemes in an initiative known as St William Homes LLP. It brings together access to a significant portfolio of brownfield land owned by National Grid Property in key areas of housing need with Berkeley's ability to design, build and market new developments. ‘London's population is set to rise by 37% to more than 11 million people by 2050 and innovative approaches to house building such as this well help to unlock vast swathes of land and deliver thousands of much needed new homes,’ said Sir Edward Lister, deputy Mayor for Planning. ‘National Grid has numerous sites across the capital that are ripe for regeneration and this partnership will stimulate development and create new jobs. Schemes such as this go hand in hand with the Mayor's work to accelerate the building of thousands more homes for Londoners with a range of pioneering new policies, including the creation of new housing zones and a housing bank,’ he added. In its first phase, St William aims to develop more than 7,000 new homes, including over 2,000 affordable homes. Development at this scale would also deliver 5,500 jobs, 2 new schools and 22 acres of public open space, transforming 84 acres of former industrial land and contributing over £150 million to local infrastructure and amenities. Meanwhile, the Lewisham Gateway development is set to deliver hundreds of new homes, a new riverside park and over 1,000 new jobs on land released by the Mayor of London, the London Borough of Lewisham and Transport for London, as part of a drive to accelerate house building on thousands of sites across the capital. Engineers on the site have rerouted two rivers and begun work on a completely new road layout. Work is also underway on the first two new buildings on the site, which are already beginning to rise from their foundations. When work on the site in Lewisham is complete it will provide up to 800 new homes in a world class development that will include new shops, cafes, park land and hugely improved access to the town centre. It is a plan that was first conceived a decade ago but was only made possible last year when, with strong support from the Mayor of London, the Government approved £20 million of funding to kick start redevelopment of the area. The development is part of a wider drive by the Mayor of London to deliver new homes on surplus land owned by the public sector. Almost 90% of 670 hectares of public land taken on by the Mayor in 2012 is now in the development pipeline, including on the former Catford stadium, and most recently appointing two developers for sites in Newham at Pontoon Dock and Silvertown Way… Continue reading
