Tag Archives: finance
Property sales in Scotland reach highest annual figure since 2008
Residential property sales in Scotland exceeded £16.5 billion in 2015, according to the latest statistics published by Registers of Scotland (RoS). A total of 97,701 sales took place across the country last year, the highest annual figure since 2008, and an increase of 4.5% compared to the previous year. Edinburgh had the largest volume of sales at 11,991 in 2015, up 8.3% on 2014 followed by Glasgow, up 12.2% to 11,616. East Renfrewshire experienced the largest annual growth in the volume of sales, with a 13.1% increase to 1,861. Aberdeenshire saw the largest decrease in volumes, down 11.8% to 5,108. The average price of a residential property rose in 2015 by 3.6% to £169,402 and the local authority area with the highest average price was Edinburgh, where the average price for the year was £238,036, an increase of 4.9% on 2014. The highest annual change in average price was in West Lothian, up 9.1% to £161,014 in 2015. The only local authority area to show a slight decrease in average price was East Renfrewshire, down 0.6% to £227,369. While the average price for all property types increased in 2015, semi-detached houses showed the largest rise in price, up 3.4% to £157,995. Detached properties had the highest average price at £249,921. Flats have the highest volume share, claiming 36.2% of the total market. The lowest share of the market was semi-detached houses, with 17,974 transactions accounting for 18.4% of the market. These statistics cover all residential sales between £20,000 and £1 million, including those that did not involve a mortgage. ‘The total value of the residential property market continues to make a significant contribution to the Scottish economy,’ said Registers of Scotland's director of commercial services, Kenny Crawford. ‘In 2015, the market totalled £16.5 billion, an increase of 8.2 per cent on the previous year. The Edinburgh property market represented over 17.2% of this figure, bringing in over £2.8 billion to the Scottish economy. This is significantly larger than the next biggest property market, Glasgow, with 9.8% of the market at £1.6 billion,’ he added. Continue reading
Property sales in UK set to slowdown when buy to let surge ends
The UK housing market is set to slow down over the next three months following a short term rush on buy to let properties, says the latest report from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. The monthly survey report from RICS also shows that house price inflation peaked last December ahead of an anticipated rush to beat buy to let tax rises which come into force on 01 April. Once the 3% surcharge on additional homes, which include buy to let and second homes, is in place, RICS predicts that there will be more modest growth in property sales. While 74% of survey respondents expected there to be a rush on buy to let purchases ahead of Stamp Duty increases only 17% (net balance) expected to see an increase in sales over the coming three months. In addition, while house price inflation expectations peaked following the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement, with prices driven by speculation regarding an increase in investor demand, RICS says that this trend is set to soften from March as investor interest dampens. Only 21% of respondents expect prices to increase over the coming months. The survey showed that house prices continued to creep up throughout February. Across the UK, East Anglia continues to show the sharpest price increases, with 91% of respondents reporting that prices had risen over the past month. London and the North East by way of contrast saw very modest gains while the South West has seen the highest rise in sales across the UK for the last three months and 49% of respondents experienced a rise in sales rather than a fall and further increases are expected over the year ahead. New instructions to sell also increased more sharply in the South West than anywhere else in the UK as 34% of surveyors saw an increase in new listings rather than a decrease. New buyer enquiries in the South West rose for the twelfth month in succession with 49% more respondents seeing an increase in demand rather than a fall, the highest in the UK. However, uncertainty weighs on London’s housing market. Price expectations have turned negative in prime central parts of the capital and after sharp periods of inflation, London house prices look set to stabilize. Overall outer London boroughs remain firmly positive and Zone one properties are showing signs of a downturn. ‘Anecdotal evidence has suggested that a combination of exogenous factors is contributing to the overall picture in prime London, with tax changes, foreign market slowdowns and uncertainty over Brexit all being mooted as potential reasons behind the changes in demand,’ said Simon Rubinsohn, RICS chief economist. ‘This is not necessarily indicative of the long term market and the depreciation of the pound could encourage overseas investors back in to the market as could the outcome of the European referendum,’ he explained. He pointed out that the challenges facing the top end of London’s property market are clearly visible in the latest results. ‘However, it is… Continue reading
A beach view is voted top in UK poll
It is always said that location is important in the UK housing market and it seems that views are too and the most desirable is a beach, new research is found. But while 71% who took part in a new poll named a beach as the best possible view from their home, not all is lost for urban areas as 24% want to see bustling city life. Beach views came out top in the poll by curtains and blinds firm Hillarys, followed by coastal landscapes with 65% of the votes and small, picturesque village life with 54%. But one in 10 identified industrial city life as among their favourite views. Initially, respondents were asked to identify the views they would most like to have from their house and provided with a list of suggestions. In fourth place was farmland with animals, polling 46% if the vote, idyllic rural countryside with 39%, suburban community life with 36%, bustling city life 24%, landscaped gardens 23%, historic or heritage sites 22% and woodland 21%. In addition some 15% stated that they would like to have a view of ‘other houses’ from their home, while 9% felt that a view of ‘industrial city life’ would be ideal. When asked if they currently had their ideal views at home, just 19% stated that they did. The average respondent stated that they would pay an extra 20% for a house if it had access to their ideal view. ‘We have some incredible landscapes here in the UK. There is so much breath taking scenery, it’s easy to take it for granted and forget how lucky we are. The lush green countryside and quaint villages might be traditional, but it seems we have our hearts set on sandy white beachfront houses,’ said the firm’s spokesperson Helen Turnbull. ‘Although we may not be able to uproot our lives and relocate in to the scenery that our hearts desire, perhaps a jaunt to a well situated holiday home to soak up the atmosphere could be worth considering or try creating a nautical environment at home to give us that seaside feeling,’ she added. Continue reading
