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Property sales in Scotland up 4% in 2015, down from 11% the previous year
Residential sales in Scotland increased by 4% in 2015, well below the 11% recorded in the previous year, a new analysis report points out. Tougher mortgage lending conditions during the first half of 2015 impacted the recovery of Scotland’s housing market, according to the report from real estate services firm Savills. However, the market adjusted during the second half of 2015 due to a recovery in mortgage lending for house purchases across Scotland, which increased by 9% from 59,500 in 2014 to 64,800 in 2015. On a Local Authority level, East Renfrewshire witnessed the strongest annual growth in the number of transactions during 2015 at 13% which the report says was boosted by the good schools effect. Other star performers include Glasgow City, West Dunbartonshire and West Lothian, where annual transactional growth in 2015 was higher than Scotland as a whole. Considering 2015 as a whole, prime sales, transactions at £400,000 and above, outperformed the overall market, with an 8% annual increase and much of this activity took place prior to the introduction of LBTT which brought higher rates of taxation to the prime market. Furthermore, the number of transactions at £1 million and above reached its highest level since 2008. Prime markets in suburban and commuter areas across Scotland’s Central Belt performed strongly during 2015, with growth spreading out from core urban hotspots. ‘This upturn in demand is driving an improving development land market. Sentiment for development land in Scotland’s cities remains positive,’ said Faisal Choudhry, director of Savills Scottish Research. With strong annual growth in the Savills Residential Development Land Index, particularly for greenfield land around Edinburgh, Perth and Stirling. The overall Savills index for greenfield land in Scotland increased year on year by 9.6% during December 2015 compared with December 2014. Choudhry explained that the development market has been further supported by Government incentives, such as the Help to Buy Mortgage Guarantee and new build schemes, which made up 8% of all residential activity in Scotland between October 2013 and September 2015. The recently announced extension of Help to Buy (Scotland) scheme to 2019 is expected to further support Scotland’s new home sales. The overall Savills index for urban land in Scotland increased year on year by 20.4% during December 2015 compared with December 2014.The increase in values, particularly in Edinburgh and Glasgow, reflects a rise in demand from housebuilders and developers, due to an improved economy, stronger markets and increased viability, Choudhry pointed out. However, he also pointed out that the fall in sentiment within the Aberdeen development land market, due to the continued low oil price and uncertainty over the future of the industry, has impacted negatively on the overall Scottish development land index. Continue reading
Survey reveals where tenants in England are most satisfied with their landlords
More renters in the East Midlands are satisfied with their landlord than in any other part of England according to new research. The survey by the National Landlords Association (NLA) found that 83% of renters in the East Midlands said they are satisfied with their landlord. Tenants in the North West and South West were jointly second on the list, with 82% satisfaction. However, there are some stark regional differences. For example, 82% of tenants in the North West are satisfied with their landlord but just 67% of tenants in the North East, the lowest satisfaction rate in the whole of the England. Overall, on average across all regions, some 79% of tenants taking part in the poll are satisfied with their landlord. In third place was the South East with 80% satisfaction, followed by the West Midlands at 79%, Yorkshire and Humber at 73%, London at 72%, the East of England at 71% and the North East at 67%. ‘Good landlords make up the majority of the market so it’s not surprising that the majority of tenants are satisfied,’ said Richard Lambert, NLA chief executive officer. ‘Private renting is far from the insecure, uncertain and unhappy picture that it is often made out to be, and these findings will help to reassure existing renters and those looking to make their home in the private sector. However, it doesn’t help the minority of tenants who are dissatisfied,’ he explained. ‘The NLA provides a range of training and accreditation opportunities for landlords in order to help them develop and improve standards so they can provide a better service but this is only part of the solution. Both central and local government must also commit more resources to tackling poor standards and weeding out bad landlords,’ he added. Continue reading
UK would be less attractive to property investor if it left the EU, new poll suggests
Property investors have warned that the UK would be a less attractive place to invest were it to leave the European Union, according to findings of a new survey. The survey of investor clients by global property advisor CBRE reveals that sentiment has hardened against leaving the EU in the three years that the poll has been taken. This year’s results show a reduction in those who think exiting the EU would make no difference to investment from 33% in 2014 to 21%. The proportion of respondents who think the UK would be a slightly worse place to invest has risen from 32% in 2014 to 46% in the latest poll, bringing the total that think the UK would be a worse place to invest to 73%, up from 69% last year. The UK will hold a referendum on whether to remain in the EU on 23 June and CBRE believes investors and occupiers are likely to behave during the referendum campaign in the same way as they did in Scotland during its 2014 independence referendum by delaying decisions until after the vote. However, after Scotland voted to stay in the UK there was a ‘catch up’ effect and CBRE expects the same for the UK, assuming that it decides to remain in the EU. ‘Property investors have, over the past three years, become increasingly gloomy about the impact of the UK leaving the EU. The UK has experienced record property investment in the last few years and the property investors we surveyed fear that a Brexit would adversely affect the attractiveness of the UK as an inward investment destination,’ said Miles Gibson, head of UK research at CBRE. ‘David Cameron’s reforms are likely to be useful, but not decisive, in affecting public sentiment. The most important concession that the Prime Minister has secured is to ensure that non-Eurozone countries are not discriminated against within the EU’s single market. This aims to ensure that key parts of the UK economy, particularly financial services, can continue to operate from the UK rather than having to move to the Eurozone,’ he added. The report shows that the majority of experts feel that the UK would suffer economically from exit, but estimates of the impact on growth vary substantially. The majority view is that the UK property market would suffer an adverse ‘demand shock’ were it to vote to leave the EU. Finally, the report argues that reductions in labour availability arising from migration controls will vary substantially because some sectors are more dependent on migrant labour than other. The food and hospitality sectors, for example, could be very exposed to labour market restrictions. The financial services sector is also exposed because of the potential change in the regulatory environment, and in terms of trade with the EU. Continue reading
