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Modern kitchen makes a property more desirable, new research suggests
A modern kitchen most likely to make homes more desirable to buyers and tenants in the UK while off street parking and a back garden are also influential, according to new research. A survey of estate agents found that 28% said a modern kitchen was the one feature most likely to prove attractive to potential buyers, 23% said a driveway or off street parking, 17% an open plan kitchen/diner and 14% a back garden. Other features chosen as most desirable to buyers were an en-suite in the master bedroom, neutral painted walls, fast internet connection, a conservatory, a front garden and real wooden floors. The data was gathered by property portal OnTheMarket and it also found that according to some agents, a modern kitchen could add up to £50,000 to the value of a property and the majority said it could add between £4,000 and £5,000, depending on the property’s overall value and size. Agents who said a modern kitchen was the most likely feature to make a home more desirable were mainly based in the South East. ‘Whilst the kitchen has always been a central part of the British home, its popularity amongst buyers and tenants has increased, triggered in part by the surge in culinary TV programmes,’ said Martin Flashman, a partner at Martin Flashman & Co, which has branches in Weybridge and Walton in Surrey. ‘Buyers are particular about kitchens, their existing facilities and the ability to extend them. Families are now spending more time in the kitchen, cooking together, baking and generally being foodies,’ he added. Nick Guy, director of Martin & Co lettings in Reigate also cited the popularity of cooking television shows. ‘This has led to more people experimenting with food and pushed the kitchen to the forefront of a tenant's/buyer's mind when they view a property. Everyone likes to picture themselves cooking impressive meals among family and friends,’ he said. ‘Buying a new home represents an investment in a certain lifestyle and for some, having a top of the range kitchen with a wow factor is part of this. It is true that this is the room that can often make or break a property deal,’ he added. The majority of agents suggested that off street parking could add £10,000 to £20,000 in value, depending on the property’s overall value and size. Agents who chose this option were mainly from the South East, Wales and the Midlands. Brian Thomas, from Ferriers Estate Agents, which covers Mid/West Glamorgan in Wales, said the appeal of off street parking was no longer confined to big cities. ‘Some of our potential buyers and tenants will not even consider looking at a property if it doesn’t have off street parking,’ he said. ‘Most families now have at least two cars, so… Continue reading
Gazumping falls overall in the UK residential property market
Despite a shortage of supply in the UK property market, the number of UK buyers being gazumped has dropped over the last 10 months, new research shows. The practice, where a buyer makes a higher offer for a house than someone whose offer has already been accepted by the seller and thus succeed in acquiring the property, has fallen by 40% since October 2014, according to a survey by online estate agent eMoov. A year ago some 22% of all home owners had been gazumped during their property purchase, however this has now reduced to 13%, particularly in Brighton which is no longer the gazumping hot spot with a fall of 68% in the practice. Gazumping is also down in London by 46% with just 17% of buyers in London having experienced gazumping first hand. The firm suggests that this could be because prices and demand have levelled out. Sheffield is named as the new gazumping capital of the UK. Some 29% of buyers in the city have been gazumped when looking to purchase a property, an increase of 25% over the last 10 months. The firm says that since December 2014, Sheffield has seen a steady increase in demand, up by 35% overall and this is almost certainly the main contributing factor to the increase in gazumping, as desperate buyers scramble to get a foot on the ladder by any means possible. Plymouth has also seen an increase in gazumping of 31% which coincides with a strong uplift in property demand in the area since the end of last year with growth of 27%. Newcastle is the only other UK city to see an increase in gazumping during this time frame, with 16% of buyers being gazumped, a rise of 12%. Other cities where gazumping is still more prevalent despite a drop are Birmingham at 17%, Leeds at 16%, Manchester at 15%, Nottingham and Bristol both at 12% and Brighton at 11%. At just 2%, Southampton had the lowest rate of gazumping in the UK. Continue reading
First time buying costs almost £700 a year less than renting, new research shows
The cost of buying a home for first time buyers in the UK is £670 a year lower than renting, according to new research by the Halifax. The average monthly costs associated with buying a three bedroom house in the UK for a first time buyer was £666 in June 2015, some 8% lower than the typical monthly rent paid on the same property type which was £722 a month. This is in contrast to June 2009, during the financial crisis, when the average cost of buying was 16% or £1,154 per year more than the average rent paid. Even though the average price paid by first time buyers for a three bedroom house is 25% higher than six years ago, the monthly costs of owning has come down as the average mortgage rate has fallen to 2.91% from 4.92%. Average rents have grown by 23% in the same period. In the past year, with the price of a typical first time buyer home rising by 8%, the difference between the cost of owning vs. the cost of renting has narrowed from £85 in 2014 to £56 in 2015, a fall of 34%. This is partly as a result of average monthly mortgage costs rising by £40 while average monthly rents have only increased by £8. The report also shows that first time buyers in London will have, in cash terms, experienced the largest benefit from buying rather than renting a home in the last year. The average monthly cost of £1,338 for those who have bought in London in 2015 compares to an average monthly rental price of £1,419, a saving of £81 a month or £973 over the year or 6%. The second largest difference is found in the South West where first time buyers were paying 9% less a month or £67 a month or £808 annually than the typical private tenant in the region. In the South East rental costs are marginally lower by 1% or £8 per month than buying, largely as a result of house price rises, but in all other regions buying costs are on average seven per cent lower than rental costs. According to figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders, there were 136,100 first time buyers in the first six months of 2015. Compared with the same period in 2014, this represents a 9% fall in purchases, the first annual decrease on this basis since the first half of 2011. However, in context, with the exception of 2014, it is still the highest total for the first six months since 2009 and was 87% higher than in the first half of that year. Part of the reason for the slowdown is that supply remains restricted, with the stock of homes available for sale falling further to new record lows. ‘Looking at monthly costs, the combination of lower mortgage rates and declining rental value over the past six years has made it cheaper to buy than… Continue reading
