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Demand for property grows across the UK but not in London
National property demand in the UK has increased by 3% overall since the first quarter of the year but it is down by 2% in London, the latest hot spot index shows. Despite the initial artificial spike in demand ahead of April’s stamp duty deadline, the changes to tax brackets for second home and buy to let properties seems to have had a detrimental impact on London property demand, according to the index report from eMoov. Removing this decrease in the London market from the national picture sees the increase in demand for property elsewhere around the nation increase by 8% since the first quarter of 2016, taking it to 40% overall. Despite demand cooling across the capital, the London Borough of Bexley remains the hottest spot in the UK for property demand at 71 although it has cooled by 7% since the start of the year in line with the decrease felt across the capital as a whole. Bristol remains the hottest spot outside of the London bubble, with demand increased, albeit marginally, to 69% followed by Bedford at 67%, then Aylesbury and Medway both at 64%, then the London Borough of Sutton and Watford both at 61%. Both Cambridge at 21st and Milton Keynes at 15th are out of the top 10 and are replaced by Northampton and Coventry, where property demand is currently at 64% and 58% respectively. The Scottish capital continues to lead north of the border, with Edinburgh at 54% the 18th hottest spot ahead of Glasgow with 48% at 34th. This is also the case in Wales, where property demand in Cardiff is currently at 44% making it the 44th hottest spot in the UK, with Swansea trailing way down in 90th place at just 27%. Kingston Upon Thames at 59% and Southwark at 47% are two of only five boroughs to have seen a positive increase in property demand levels since the first quarter and are the first and second largest increases across the UK respectively. There has also been a resurgence for property demand across the North East after a tough year for home owners in the region. Stockton-on-Tees at 47%, North Tyneside at 46%, Gateshead at 42%, Durham at 37%, Newcastle at 32% and Sunderland at 23% have all recorded some of the biggest increases in property demand since the first quarter. At just 12% the London Borough of Westminster continues to prop up the table, joined by its prime central London neighbours Kensington and Chelsea also at 12% and Hammersmith and Fulham at 17%, as well as Camden at 20%, the coldest spots in the UK for property demand. Despite its slight revival in the first quarter demand for property in Aberdeen is also low at just 13%. ‘The changes to stamp duty tax brackets for those looking to secure a second home or buy-to-let property seem to have hit the London market harder than the rest of the UK,’ said Russell Quirk, chief executive… Continue reading
Calls for new home building quality to be improved in UK
Members of Parliament in the UK and construction experts are calling on the Government to set up a New Homes Ombudsman to mediate in disputes between home buyers and house builders. This is one of 10 recommendations setting out measures to improve the quality of workmanship in new homes and provide consumers with easier and cheaper forms of redress, to get problems fixed. According to the All Party Parliamentary Group for Excellence in the Built Environment (APPGEBE) house builders should be upping their game and putting consumers at the heart of their business model and the Government should use its influence to promote quality at every opportunity. ‘The Government is intent on seeing the construction of one million new homes within the course of this Parliament. However, our view is that increasing the quantity of new homes must not be achieved at the expense of their quality,’ said Chairman of the group, Oliver Colvile. ‘It is clear to us that there is a quality gap between customer demands and industry delivery. Closing this gap will only come about, we believe, if housebuilders make a concerted effort to create a more consumer focused culture. From the evidence we heard, consumers want to see an improved quality of build, homes that are fit for purpose and an easy to understand warranty,’ he pointed out. He added that when something is wrong, consumers want an affordable and accessible means of putting it right. ‘To this end we have set out a series of measures to redress the imbalance between buyers and sellers,’ he said. The report says that the role of the building control inspector is a key part of the process and it recommends that there should be a minimum level of compliance inspections. It also says that new home buyers should be given information about the building inspections carried out as this will improve transparency. The role of a New Homes Ombudsman would include mediating disputes between consumers and their builders or warranty providers to offer a quick resolution procedure paid for by a housebuilders’ levy. The report also recommends that house building sales contracts should be standardised as this would remove much of the uncertainty that presently arises from the bespoke nature of each builder’s sales contract, which can deter so many from pursuing claims Buyers should have the right to inspect properties before completion and this would discourage builders from serving notices to complete prematurely, or concealing major defects until after they have received the full purchase price, and would also encourage better quality control and site management pre-completion Builders should be required to provide buyers with a comprehensive information pack, the aim being to improve transparency of the design, building and inspection process. The pack should contain information including, designs and plans, specifications and details about both warranty and building control inspections, when carried out and by whom. The report suggests that the Department of Communities and Local Government should commission a thorough… Continue reading
Median sales prices hit record high in five regions in New Zealand
Five regions in New Zealand saw median sales prices hit a new record high but overall the median price nationals fell by 1% in June, the latest real estate index shows. The median sales price now stands at $500,000 with the Waikato/Bay of Plenty region recorded its fifth record median sale price for 2016, reaching $438,000, while the median price in Auckland reaching $821,000. The data from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) also shows that Northland recorded a new record median of $360,000, while Otago reached $295,000 and Central Otago Lakes hit $730,050. The index figures reveal that sales fell 13% month on month which is in line with the general trend at this time of the year although an increase of 6% was recorded in June 2015. ‘Although the onset of winter means that June is generally a quieter month for the real estate market, there has been no let-up in the rate of price increases across the country, with five regions recording new record median prices,’ said REINZ spokesperson Bryan Thomson. ‘Although there is much discussion about the housing market and increasing new build supply, the fact remains that the vast majority of the supply comes from the sale of existing properties,’ he added. The data also reveals a rapid declines in the volume of properties available for sale right across the country, with a number of regions, such as Wellington and Hawke’s Bay, recording very low levels of properties for sale. Thomson pointed out that while Auckland continues to be the largest single region, its influence on the national picture is waning due to its own weaker sales and strong growth in sales in other regions, particularly Waikato/Bay of Plenty and Northland. Auckland’s peak share of national sales was 39.7% in January 2014, however, its share is now just over 33.8%. Over the same period Waikato/Bay of Plenty’s share of national sales has increased from 14.3% to 19.0%. A breakdown of the figures shows that Central Otago Lakes recorded the largest percentage increase in median price compared to June 2015, at 42%, followed by Waikato/Bay of Plenty at 26% and Otago at 19%. The number of properties available for sale across all regions in New Zealand has continued to fall between June 2015 and June 2016. Wellington has the fewest properties for sale with just over seven weeks of supply, closely followed by Hawke’s Bay with nine weeks supply and Auckland with just under 10 weeks of supply. The number of days to sell has only improved by three days at the national level over the past 12 months, although the regions have seen some significant improvements with nine regions seeing a decrease of 20% or more in the number of days to sell. Auckland was the only region to see a lengthening of the number of days to sell over the past 12 months. Between June 2015 and June 2016, the number… Continue reading
