Tag Archives: finance
Female property professionals in UK still paid less than men
Salaries for UK property professionals have continued to rise at an average increase of 7.1% in 2016 but there is still a gender pay gap, according to the latest survey, with men earning £7,000 a year more than women. The survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and Macdonald & Company shows that male property professionals earn £57,509 a year compared to their female counterparts on £45,689. It means that the gender pay gap has closed slightly from 27% last year to 25.9% in 2016, the discrepancy is evident across all age groups and is most acute for those aged 18 to 22 where the difference in average salary is 28.7%. The report also says that competition for talent continues with the average salary increase awarded to respondents who moved employer in the last year reached 16.2%, while the average increase received by respondents under 30 jumped by 12%. Bonuses awarded to entry level candidates jumped by 79% this year and employees at this level are also most likely to move job and of those who indicated they are likely to look to change roles this year 35% are relatively inexperienced, compared to 19% last year. ‘The fact that 64% of respondents reported a rise in salary will offer cold comfort to the many women in the sector, especially those at entry level, who are once again confronted with a significant gender pay gap. The industry must urgently take action to create a more balanced workforce that attracts the best talent if it wants to remain competitive,’ said RICS equalities manager Justine Wallis-Leggett. ‘We can achieve this by introducing inclusive working practices such as flexible working. These are key to employee engagement, and in an increasingly competitive market, employers cannot afford to create working environments that only serve the needs of a small majority of the workforce,’ she added. She pointed out that RICS has launched an Inclusive Employer Quality Mark which asks employers to put inclusivity at the heart of what they do, and aims to support them in sharing best practice. ‘We would urge all firms to put their money where their mouth is by signing up. Until there is a true commitment to change within the sector, we will continue to see results like these and the subsequent drift of talent away from our sector,’ Wallis-Leggett explained. Looking at the picture across the UK, those working in greater London continue to earn, on average, the most at £65,050 and command a premium of 20.8% over the South East and 52.2% over Ireland. The majority of the rest of the UK have indicated only a slight growth in average annual salaries, with the greatest growth seen in Scotland with a rise of 2% and the Midlands up 1%. RICS qualifications continue to show their merit with a FRICS earning £69,885 in comparison to a non RICS counterpart at £43,905, while those with… Continue reading
Latest survey shows decline in home ownership in England has halted
A decade long decline in home ownership in England has been halted with the latest figures showing that more than 14 million people owned their home in 2015. The data from the English Housing Survey reveals that out of the 22.5 million households in England in 2014 to 2015, the number of people owning their own home in the past year has remained static the first time this has happened since 2003. It also shows that more than half of local authority tenants and a third of housing association tenants expect to buy their current home and there has been an increase in better homes with the number of properties failing to meet the government’s Decent Homes Standard continuing to fall and down by 3.1 million on 2006. ‘In 2010 there was a housing market where buyers couldn’t buy, builders couldn’t build and lenders couldn’t lend. Our efforts are turning that around with more than 270,000 families helped into home ownership through government backed schemes since 2010, while the number of new homes is up 25% over the last year,’ said Housing Minister Brandon Lewis. ‘And we’ve set out the boldest ambition for housing in a generation, doubling the budget so we can help a million more people into home ownership, while delivering a bigger, and better private rental sector,’ he added. Lewis said that the survey also provides evidence that the government’s decision to reinvigorate and extend its flagship Right to Buy scheme has boosted the aspiration of social housing tenants with those expecting to buy their current home rising from 35% in 2010/2011 to 42% in 2014/2015. More than 46,000 people have taken up the chance to buy their home through the reinvigorated scheme since 2012 with councils delivering replacement properties on a one to one basis ahead of schedule. Lewis added that house building is at the heart of the government’s long term economic plan with more than £20 billion committed over the next five years to help meet its ambition to deliver one million new homes. Details from the survey show that among owner occupiers, the proportion of households who owned outright remained larger than the proportion buying with a mortgage, although not in London. In 2014/2015, there were more outright owners at 33% than ‘mortgagors’ at 30%, a continuation of the trend first identified in 2013/2014. This was not the case in London where there were more mortgagors at 27% than outright owners at 23%, which the report says is most likely as a result of the younger age profile of the population in London. The private rented sector remained larger than the social rented sector. In 2014/2015 some 19% or 4.3 million of households were renting privately, while 17% or 3.9 million of households lived in the social rented sector. There was no change in the size of either sector between 2013/2014 and 2014/2015. There has been an increase in the number of families with dependent children… Continue reading
UK buyers choose renovation properties to try to save money, research suggests
Some 35% of home owners in the UK who bought a property that needed renovation had to as it was the only way that could afford to buy a home, according to new research. Some 8% bought a home needing renovation but found that in reality they could not afford to do the work and 10% ended up living on a ‘building site’ for a year or more before starting the work. The research from price comparison site Confused.com also found that for those who persevere the hard work can be worth it 19% made a profit of between £25,000 and £50,000 from a successful renovation project. The sale prices of properties that need renovation are normally much lower than the prevailing market price in that particular locality. On average, home owners who have bought a renovation property have saved themselves £44,037. Home renovators are paying on average £152,792 for a property that needed some work done to it, compared to the average UK house price which is valued at £196, 829. Some 38% admitted to buying a property that needed some work as it saved them thousands of pounds compared to buying a home that needed no work. In fact, 40% of home owners admit they would buy a property that needed renovation if it saved them money. On average, home owners spent £33,089 on doing up their properties with 12% spending more than £50,000 renovating their home. Some 62% did work on the kitchen and 61% on the bathroom. However, renovating a property can often be more expensive than first anticipated with 45% of home owners saying they spent more than intended, with many spending £2,886 over their budget. Indeed, some 26% ended up going over their budget by more than £5,000 and 22% said that they would never buy a renovation project again. And the research also found that 41% who have carried out renovation work on their property have not let their insurer know. ‘As house prices seem to be continuing to rise, it would appear that more and more people are resorting to buying properties that need renovation. Deciding to renovate a property is a big decision and often more expensive than first anticipated,’ said Gareth Lane, head of home insurance at the firm. Continue reading
