Tag Archives: guides
UK annual property price growth dips slightly, latest official data shows
UK house prices increased by 5.2% in the year to July 2015, taking the mix adjusted price of a home to £282,000, according to the latest data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS). This mean annual growth was down slightly from 5.7% in the year to June 2015 and excluding London and the South East, which tend to have higher prices, the average annual growth was 4.4%. A breakdown of the figures show that the average mix-adjusted house prices in July 2015 stood at £295,000 in England, £173,000 in Wales, £154,000 in Northern Ireland and £196,000 in Scotland. London continued to be the English region with the highest average house price at £525,000 and the North East had the lowest average house price at £156,000. London, the South East and the East all had prices higher than the UK average price of £282,000. House price annual inflation was 5.6% in England, 0.3% in Wales, 7.4% in Northern Ireland and down 1.3% in Scotland. Annual house price increases in England were driven by an annual increase in the East of 8.3% and the South East at 6.7%. The data also shows that in July 2015, prices paid by first time buyers were 4.4% higher on average than in July 2014. For owner occupiers (existing owners), prices increased by 5.5% for the same period. Overall average house prices in seven of the nine 9 English regions are at record levels, with prices in the North West surpassing the pre-economic downturn peak of January 2008 for the first time. The only English regions not now at record levels are the North East and Yorkshire and The Humber. It is weak supply that is driving up prices, according to Rob Weaver, director of property at residential investment platform Property Partner. ‘The supply issue is nothing less than an enigma. Given that properties overall are commanding decent prices, you would expect to see more people selling. Something in the market is broken. Even though employment levels are strong, consumer confidence may not be as robust as surveys suggest,’ he said. ‘Many households are almost certainly wary of not being able to secure a mortgage under the new lending rules, and that could be impacting their intent to move. Households have almost certainly become more conservative in the wake of the global financial crisis. Paying debt down has become more appealing than racking it up,’ he pointed out. ‘Many are doubtless sitting on their hands until the economic picture gets clearer because the recovery has become less definitive during the first half of the year. This latest data shows that the property market has become a lot more balanced, with sustainable levels of price growth across a number of regions. It is almost a relief to see prices in the capital growing at 5.5%, compared to the high double digit growth rates of a two years ago,’ he added. Peter Rollings, chief executive officer of Marsh & Parsons, comments pointed… Continue reading
UK to get new buy to let index
A new property index is being launched in the UK that will include more micro level data aimed at providing advanced insight into buy to let investment. The Landbay Rental Index, powered by MIAC for the peer to peer buy to let mortgage lender, will be available for the first time later this month and will monitor rental prices and market trends across the country. The index is intended to serve as a more practical guide to current and potential landlords looking to invest in buy to let properties, as well as others interested in trends in the private rented sector. Rental trends will be reported by granular geographical levels including region, county and London boroughs. Rents will also be analysed by the number of bedrooms and include detailed analysis and explanation of emerging trends. Each monthly report will contain national and local breakdowns, alongside practical detail for rental asking prices by number of bedrooms with input data sourced from Zoopla. ‘The ability to offer new and highly developed data insights into the buy to let and wider property market is very exciting for us. Our P2P mortgage lending platform was developed using the latest innovations in financial technology, so data and insight are already in our DNA,’ said John Goodall, Landbay chief executive officer. ‘We’re confident our partnership with MIAC will give answers to what is driving prices and trends in the private rented sector. Being able to see how rental trends differ by number of bedrooms will be useful in a very practical way, particularly for those looking to invest in buy to let. We hope this tool will prove a useful guide to buy to let investors, and stimulate a discussion amongst industry commentators,’ he explained. ‘The UK property market is fluid and complicated. To really pinpoint what is happening we need local and bedroom number data. With this index we’ll truly find out who and where is pulling the levers in the rental market,’ he added. According to Joe Macklin, director of risk and analytics of MIAC, the new index will benefit from the richest available underlying data and the most fit for purpose statistical techniques to deliver a rental index that is both granular and accurate. Continue reading
UK property prices continue upward as sales fall, latest index shows
Property prices increased by 0.4% overall in England and Wales in August and 0.3% in Scotland but sales fell to a new record low for the month, according to the latest real estate index. Property prices increased by 0.4% overall in England and Wales in August and 0.3% in Scotland but sales fell to a new record low for the month, according to the latest real estate index. The data from Home.co.uk show that the South East remains the UK’s fastest moving regional market and prices outdo Greater London with a six month rise of 6.1%. Overall year on year prices were up 6.5% but this rise to 12.8% of £60,000 in Greater London. Asking prices rose in all English regions, Scotland and Wales month on month with the biggest rises in the East of England and the South East at 0.9% and 1% respectively. The index report says that buyer demand and short supply in London and the southern regions continues to drive the national average higher, but at a lesser rate than last year. The supply crisis is worsening and August recorded the lowest number of properties entering the market for that month since the onset of the financial crisis. It suggests that the key driver for demand is the availability of mortgage finance, which remains abundant. Talk of interest rate rises at the Bank of England has not dented buyers’ appetite. Competition between investors remains fierce in London and surrounding regions where the lack of supply is felt most keenly. Indeed, the data shows that in London and the East of England, the volumes of properties entering the market are down 15% and 18% respectively year on year and down 75% and 73% compared with August 2008. ‘These and other southern regions are clearly sellers’ markets and prices remain firmly on an upward trajectory. Marketing times in the South East region have been the lowest in the country since February. Across much of the nation, marketing times are currently around the lowest we have witnessed since 2008,’ said Doug Shephard, the firm’s director. But he pointed out that in the North marketing times are considerably higher than in the South and prices are not rising appreciably and he predicts further upward pressure on prices over the coming months although the North-South divide remains one of the most daunting imbalances in the UK economy. ‘Whilst the stimulus enabled property boom rages in London and the southern regions, the northern markets continue to stagnate. Price appreciation over the last 12 months in the northern regions lay in the range -0.2% to 1.4%,’ said Shephard. ‘Wales too shows little or no sign of market recovery, with a rise of just 1.4% since September 2014. Looking back across the last five years, we can see clearly the dramatic polarisation that has taken place in the UK property market. Only three regions surpassed the average growth for England and Wales, namely London, the South… Continue reading
