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Latest Help Buy figures show over 50,000 have bought new homes in England
Almost 53,000 households have bought a home in England through the government’s flagship Help to Buy scheme, according to the latest figures to be released. The figures show how the scheme is getting more homes built in England, with over 37,600 households buying new build homes through the equity loan and NewBuy options, and a further 15,000 though the mortgage guarantee. A further 3,500 new home owners have also been created in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland through the Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme, said Housing and Planning Minister Brandon Lewis. Almost 80% of sales have gone to first time buyers, with nearly 70% being for new build homes. The direct result is a new generation of homeowners and the sharpest increase in private house building starts for 40 years. Lewis said the figures were further evidence that hard working families were voting with their feet, and Help to Buy was expanding and accelerating the supply of new homes. House building has climbed to the highest level since 2007, the construction sector has grown for 16 consecutive months, and companies are now taking on new workers at the fastest rate since 1997. He pointed out that the government has also expanded the range of available data about Help to Buy. Sales are now broken down by postcode and constituency so communities, builders and businesses can see exactly how the scheme is benefiting their local area. ‘Almost 53,000 households have now benefited through Help to Buy in England. Hard working families are getting the right support to step onto the housing ladder, and house building has climbed to its highest level since 2007,’ said Lewis. ‘Postcode data for each constituency is now available, so local communities can see exactly how this vital part of our long-term economic plan is fixing the broken housing market we inherited in 2010, and supporting their area,’ he added. Overall, sales of new build homes have been strong across the country. The highest number of equity loan sales were in Wiltshire with 557, Leeds with 539 and Central Bedfordshire with 504. Peterborough, Milton Keynes, Bedford, County Durham, Birmingham, Bradford, Manchester, Kingston-upon-Hull, Aylesb Continue reading
Homes in England near top performing schools cost an average of 16.6% more
The average value of a home within a mile of one the top 50 best performing schools in England is 16.6% higher than average values in the surrounding local authority area, new research shows. Overall Sevenoaks School has the biggest uplift in house prices among the 50 top performing schools, with sales prices in 2014 some 221% higher, according to the analysis from international real estate firm Knight Frank. On a regional basis homes near the best schools in the North East command the largest uplift at nearly 47% while the best value houses around the top 50 schools are found around Scarborough College, where prices of homes within a mile radius are 41%, or £70,094, below the average values in the local authority area. ‘When deciding on a location for their family, parents can place a great deal of focus on the level and quality of education that local schools can provide and as a result good schools can be an important driver of local property markets,’ said Oliver Knight, of Knight Frank’s residential research team. ‘Our research highlights this, showing that in general people are willing to pay a significant premium for a home close to some of the UK’s best schools. However, the size of the price uplift varies and it will be affected by the location and the type of housing stock on offer in a given area,’ he added. According to data from the Land Registry for actual achieved sales prices within a mile radius of Sevenoaks School in 2014, the uplift translates to a premium of £425,291 compared to the average house price in the wider local authority ‘As Sevenoaks School offers pupils the internationally recognised Baccalaureate, it has opened up the town to international buyers which has increased the demand for the housing stock beyond the traditional local and national market. An English education has world wide appeal,’ said Edward Rook, of Knight Frank in Sevenoaks. In London, where property prices tend to be higher and the frequency of public transport means accessibility and the daily commute is less of a factor, the uplift is 4.9%. In the East of England it is 33.5%, in the East Midlands 30.9%, in the North West 29.6%, in Yorkshire and Humber 27.8%, in the West Midlands 25.8%, in the South East 23.9% and in the South West 19.4%. Continue reading
Lawyers warning over complexity of right to buy land proposals in Scotland
Plans to empower Scottish communities who want to register an interest in land in towns and cities could backfire due to the complexity of proposed changes to the law, it is claimed. According to the Law Society of Scotland, proposals to extend communities’ right to buy land to include people living in urban areas, could be thwarted by the complexity of the proposals and potentially limit rather than empower local groups and stall development plans for neglected land in urban areas. The Community Empowerment (Scotland) Bill introduced into the Scottish parliament amends the Land Reform (Scotland ) Act 2003 by allowing community bodies to register an interest in respect of not only rural land, but now also urban land in Scotland ‘While the committee welcomes the policy intention behind the bill, our concern is that there may be unintended consequences from the current proposals,’ said Alan McCreadie, secretary to the Society’s planning committee. ‘For example, what would happen if a community registered its interest in urban land which is already subject to a redevelopment proposal? While Scottish Ministers could, in those circumstances, decide that registration is not in the public interest, the uncertainty could have an adverse impact on investment decisions for developers,’ he explained. ‘The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 has benefited people in Scotland’s rural communities and we would want to ensure the same kind of success in our towns and cities. The committee, however, highlights a marked difference between rural land and urban land which may well have a higher price and consequent development costs,’ he added. The Society also highlights that the procedure for registering community interest in abandoned or neglected land, which is undefined in the bill, is similar to Compulsory Purchase and there should therefore be a requirement for a viable business plan and robust development proposals in respect of any community right to buy abandoned or neglected land. ‘The very complexity of the proposals may also be an issue. Introducing an overly complex, bureaucratic process could discourage communities from working to improve their local area and it may be advisable to set up a central body to steer community bodies through the provisions of this bill,’ added McCreadie. Continue reading
