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Edinburgh property market sees strong start to the year
The Edinburgh property market has had a flying start to the year with encouraging levels of demand and high quality property coming to the market, it is claimed. There has also been an increase in property viewings, according to CKD Galbraith, following a year of steady growth for the Scottish property market. The firm’s statistics from the first quarter of 2015 suggest that this trend is set to continue with the firm’s overall sales up 24% compared to the same period last year. As the traditional spring selling season commences the firm’s offices across Scotland are generally reporting rising levels of buyer confidence and activity. CKD Galbraith research reported that the first quarter of 2015, from January to March, saw the number of properties on the Edinburgh market rise by 150% compared to the same quarter of 2014. Buyer interest was also significantly up with a 28% increase in property viewings and an 80% rise in potential buyers registering with the office in comparison to the previous quarter. ‘Edinburgh has experienced an increased demand for high quality city properties and I’m confident that our established team has an unrivalled advantage in the local market to be able to secure and sell such properties,’ said Jamie McNeill, from the Edinburgh office. ‘The statistics demonstrate a healthy market and we forecast this is likely to continue throughout the spring and summer months,’ he added. The data also shows that sales in Edinburgh increased by 50% compared to the last quarter, 62% of sales were completed by local buyers, 25% national and 13% international, and the average time taken by the Edinburgh office to sell property was seven weeks, with the quickest sale conducted in just one week. It found that 62% of purchases were made by cash buyers and there was an increase in the number of high end properties on the market at £400,000, probably due to the introduction of the new LBTT property tax in Scotland in April. The firm has asserted that the new tax system in Scotland, the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT), should not put potential buyers from outside Scotland off, the local office’s sales teams are highly experienced in guiding buyers through the process. During the first quarter of the year nearly 10% of the firm’s sales were completed by international buyers. Continue reading
UK house hunters holding off until general election result, agents believe
House hunters in the UK seem to be holding off making a decision with the country’s general election just a week away, according to the latest monthly report from estate agents. Some 63% of members of the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) believe that demand for homes is at its lowest since last year with just 343 house hunters registered per branch compared with 406 last September when demand was at its highest. The report also shows that just 22% of total house sales in March were made to first time buyers, the lowest since July 2014 and down 30% from February. NAEA member agents are concerned about supply and demand for first time buyers as housing policy remains one of the big election issues. The report also shows that almost half, 48%, of agents favoured the Conservatives’ pledge to build 200,000 new starter homes, arguing that this initiative will be the most beneficial for the first time buyer housing market. However, only 6% back Labour’s promises to boost house building rates to 200,000 a year by 2020 and 31% do not believe that any of the proposed policies will be enough to straighten the market out. ‘We would always expect to see an event as monumental as a general election having an impact on the property market. But what makes this election so interesting is that no one knows what the result will be,’ said Mark Hayward, NAEA managing director. ‘And with housing featuring so prominently in all three main parties’ manifestos, buyers in particular are holding off to see what will happen. The outcome of the election will impact first, second, third and last time buyers,’ he added. The NAEA report also shows that while demand is down to 343 house hunters registered per branch in March, supply is up 12% from 43 to 48 houses available per NAEA member branch, as houses stay on the market for longer with nervous buyers. Demand still hugely outstrips supply, so a fall in demand does not affect the number of sales. March saw an increase in the amount of sales agreed per branch, with 10 sales going through, compared to eight in February. ‘We may have seen a slight increase in supply this month, but it is not an ongoing trend or a big enough jump to fill the gap for demand. It’s encouraging to see all parties actively proposing plans to regulate supply and demand,’ said Hayward. ‘However, the policies in place are unlikely to be enough to rectify the crippling situation we’re in. It’s all very well proposing to build 200,000 houses, but planning law, lack of infrastructure and available labour can make this process so lengthy that it may be ten or twenty years until we see this, by which time demand will be greater,’ he explained. ‘Although our agents have seen the market cooling off ahead of the General Election, it will inevitably bounce back again at a rapid… Continue reading
UK agency predicts a million tenants could lose out under rental plans
A million tenants in the UK could lose their rental properties as a result of one of the major party's policies on the private rented sector, it is claimed. Belvoir, one of the UK’s largest property management agencies, predicts that Labour’s pledge to introduce new anti-landlord rental policies could result in landlords leaving the sector. ‘I am shocked at Ed Miliband’s proposals and his decision to ignore industry experts who have issued dire warnings about the unprecedented suffering that his party’s policies are likely to cause to tenants,’ said Dorian Gonsalves, Belvoir’s director of commercial and franchising. ‘Under a Labour Government, landlords will be forced to commit to three-year tenancies and banned from raising rents above inflation. You don’t have to be a mathematician or property expert to work out how deeply flawed these policies are,’ he explained. He pointed out that there are currently 11 million people renting property in the UK, which amounts to about 20% of the population and includes 1.5 million families with children. ‘There are around four million rental properties available and if just 10 to 15% of landlords decide to withdraw from the rental market because they are uncomfortable with Labour’s proposals and feel unable to manage their risks, particularly when mortgage rates rise, these homes will no longer be available,’ he said. ‘These tenants will either become homeless or face the appalling consequences of having to move in with family and friends on a long term basis,’ he added. Gonsalves also pointed out that when you look at the promises made on new homes from all the main parties, the most that any party has pledged is 300,000 properties in the next five years. ‘Clearly this figure will not even begin to satisfy current demand, which is the reason that we’re facing a housing shortage,’ he said. ‘We should not forget that it was the Labour Government’s incompetence that contributed to the financial crisis of 2007 and 2008, which resulted in a credit crunch that has left millions of people unable to obtain mortgages or save for a deposit to buy their own home. It is therefore very short sighted and totally irresponsible of Labour to introduce policies that will drastically reduce the number of available rental properties,’ he commented. ‘Landlords are very tired of being made to look like criminals who are constantly looking to rip off tenants and provide low quality housing. In our experience, 99.9% of landlords are decent people that provide decent housing for tenants on a long term basis,’ he added. The Belvoir rental index shows that in most parts of the country there has not been the major rental increases that Ed Miliband speaks of. ‘However, if we look back over the past five to 10 years and apply Labour’s proposed inflation rule for rental increases to many parts of the… Continue reading
