Tag Archives: guides
Average House prices in England and Wales up 8.4% year on year
Average house price in England and Wales increased 1% in August to reach £177,824, according to the latest index from the Land Registry. The data also shows that prices have increased by 8.4% year on year and are now not far from the peak of £181,383 in November 2007. Overall over 82,600 residential properties in England and Wales lodged for registration in August ranging from £13,000 to £24.5 million. The biggest price increase was in London with a year on year rise of 21.6% and London also experienced the greatest monthly rise with growth of 2.7% in August. The North East saw the lowest annual price growth with a rise of 3% and both the South West and the North West saw the most significant monthly price fall of 0.1%. The most up to date figures available show that during June 2014 the number of completed house sales in England and Wales increased by 11% to 73,158 compared with 66,123 in June 2013. The number of properties sold in England and Wales for over £1 million in June 2014 increased by 34% to 1,135 from 848 in June 2013. Jonathan Hudson of West End estate agent Hudsons Property, pointed out that while London is well beyond the average price in 2007, it is interesting to see the rest of the country is almost there too. ‘However, with London and the South East making up the majority of the average prices, it shows some parts of the UK are someway adrift, still more so than this figure suggests,’ he explained. ‘The annual 8.4% increase in August will be from transactions agreed a few months earlier, so it will be interesting to see how these figures match up in a few months’ time, due to a drop in buyers in the last quarter compared to the recent boom years,’ he added. He also pointed out that while some areas in the UK are still struggling with regards to getting close to the average price of 2007, with the economy moving in the right direction, and with stricter lending, hopefully repossessions will decrease further,’ he said. Continue reading
Dubai to introduce new measures to ensure broker transparency
New measures are being introduced in Dubai next year to make sure hundreds of new real estate brokers are monitored. The Emirate has seen over 500 new brokers setting up this year alone and the Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA), the regulatory arm of Dubai Land Department, wants to make sure they are compliant. It has announced the introduction of four new regulations to control brokers at a time when the real estate broker sector is booming due to the recovery in the property market. Overseas buyers are again investing in Dubai led by Indian and British nationals. ‘We are going to introduce four new measures to control the brokers. We had over 8,000 brokerage firms with 10,000 brokers at one time, but now we have 2,205 firms with 5,021 brokers. We saw 567 new firms setting up business this year and we believe the numbers are still high for Dubai,’ said Marwan bin Ghalita, RERA chief executive officer. The new regulations will come into force next year and will see the pass mark for the mandatory test for renewal of broker’s license rise from 75% to 85%. Also, broker cards will be eliminated, but broker registration will be linked with Emirates identification. The changes will also mean that new brokerages will be allowed only four broker visas to start with and any increase will depend on their performance. Brokers, who fail to do any transaction for six months to 12 months will have their registration cancelled. Other changes are being considered. For example there is concern at an industry level that property owners not signing broker contract agreements, known as Form A. RERA is now considering making the contract obligatory before a property can be marketed. ‘If the seller does not signing Form A, the seller will not be able to list the property and sell it through any agent in Dubai,’ he disclosed, adding that a multiple listing system would come in place soon which will limit the listings for the seller in the market. Since May unified real estate contracts have been mandatory with the aim of protecting the rights of sellers, buyers and brokers in any real estate transaction. The latest data from the Dubai Land Department show that there were 17,289 real estate transactions worth AED37.5 billion in the first half of the year. Indian and British buyers topped the list for foreign investment and Jordanian investors led the regional list of buyers. ‘To say that we are delighted with the real investment transaction figures from January to July would be an understatement. We are extremely proud of these positive results, as they reflect a building momentum in Dubai’s real estate market,’ said Sultan Butti Bin Mejren, DLD director general. ‘Dubai’s real estate market has now reasserted itself on both the regional and global stage. We are certain that the future will see even more demand, especially in light of the government's declaration of forthcoming major projects,’ he added. A breakdown of the figures show that Arab Investors completed… Continue reading
UK letting agents report increasing demand for rental properties
People in the UK looking to rent a home face fierce competition for privately rented residential property as demand increases and supply contracts, according the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA). ARLA’s third quarterly report shows that 68% of respondents reported more would be tenants than properties available. It also shows that supply is down 6% from 143 to 135 per branch. The number looking to rent represents the third and biggest successive increase, from 46% in the third quarter of 2013, to 54% in the first quarter of 2014, to 59% in the second quarter of 2014. This represents an increase of nine percentage points between the second and third quarters, the largest increase since numbers were on the up. This is reinforced by the fact that supply of residential property on the private rental market decreased in the last quarter, with ARLA Licensed members recording a 6% drop in the average number of managed buy to let investment properties on their books. Stock levels are only going to continue decreasing, as members reported that the number of landlords investing in buy to let property shrunk by 8% in the last quarter, from 35% to 27%. At the same time, the number of landlords selling their buy to let property increased by 5% from 27% to 32%. As a result, the relationship between buying and selling buy to let investments has reversed, with landlords selling property now exceeding landlords buying property for the first time in four years. ‘This quarter, we have seen demand for properties in the rental sector significantly rise, while the supply of residential rental properties has dropped,’ said David Cox, ARLA managing director. ‘This activity has bucked the seasonal trend recorded over the past 11 years for this quarter, in which we normally see an increase in the number of new tenancies signed up. However, with landlords not investing in new buy to let property tenants are finding it increasingly difficult to secure contracts,’ he explained. The report also shows that whilst the overall property stock is down, some ARLA Licensed members reported that a large proportion of buy to let properties that were put up for sale have since come back onto the rental market, after landlords’ bids to sell had been unsuccessful. The number of these properties coming back onto the lettings market rose from 9% to 16% in the last quarter. There is some good news when it comes to tenants in the private rented sector; tenants have been wising up and taking responsibility as members saw an increase in tenants requesting references on potential landlords from lenders, with the figure from 7% to 9%. ‘It’s great to see an increase in consumers making an active play to check that their landlords are financially viable. Renting a property and laying out considerable finances is a big commitment, and it is important that consumers ensure they are protected,’ said Cox. ‘By choosing to rent through an ARLA licensed agent or landlord, tenants’ money is not… Continue reading
