Tag Archives: housing
Property prices in England and Wales up 0.1% in Oct, says Land Reg index
Property prices in England and Wales increased by 0.1% in October, taking the average price to £177,377, according to the latest index from the Land Registry. The data for October also shows an overall annual price increase of 7.7% but there are considerable regional variations. London has seen the biggest annual price rise at 18.6% and a 0.7% month on month rise, taking the average price to £460,060. The East experienced the greatest monthly rise with a movement of 1.6% and has seen prices rise by 11% year on year to an average of £198,338, while the South East had an 11.4% year on year rise and monthly growth of 1.2% to an average of £240,070 The average price in Yorkshire and Humber is now £120,807 after a 0.6% month on month rise and annual growth of 4.3%, the South West has seen prices rise by 0.2% month and month and 6.4% year on year to £185,615 and the West Midlands also saw prices rise 0.2% month and month and an annual rise of 4.4% to £135,378. Elsewhere prices have fallen month on month but are still some way ahead of a year ago. The North East saw the steepest monthly fall with prices down 2.7% but they are up 2.7% year on year to an average of £97,356. In the North West prices fell 0.3% month on month but are up 4.5% year on year to £112,642. The East Midlands saw a month on month fall of 0.4% but price are up 5.7% compared to a year ago with an average price of £131,274. Wales also saw prices fall month on month, down 0.9% but up 2% year on year to an average of £118,437. The most up to date figures available show that during August 2014 the number of completed house sales in England and Wales increased by 4% to 82,415 compared with 79,587 in August 2013. The number of properties sold in England and Wales for over £1 million in August 2014 increased by 15% to 1,363 from 1,185 in August 2013. Peter Rollings, chief executive officer of Marsh & Parsons, pointed out that while UK house prices are still edging forward, growth is slowing compared to the first half of the year and although London has considerably outperformed all other regions during the last 12 months, growth has slowed considerably and on a monthly basis only edged up slightly. In addition, prices are slipping in some of the most expensive areas of the capital, with values in Kensington and Chelsea falling 2.5% over the month to October, as growth tails off more sharply at the top end of the market. ‘Activity levels at the top tiers of the UK housing market have shown healthy growth, with sales of properties worth over £1 million rising 15% in the year to August 2014. But fears of a potential mansion tax could contaminate demand for prime property in the run up to the general election,’… Continue reading
US homes market experiencing a shortage of properties for sale at lower end
More higher priced homes in the US are being put up for sale but there is still a shortage of lower priced homes on the market, new research suggests. Buyers searching for homes will find more homes for sale overall, but supply of lower priced homes is growing more slowly than high priced homes in most of the country, according to the latest home value index from Zillow. Overall, median home values rose 6.4% from October 2013 and 0.4% from September. Both monthly and annual home value gains were well below the faster paces recorded earlier in the year. Rising inventory and slowing home value growth are two signs that the housing market is beginning to level off across the nation. As the market has cooled, buyers looking for less expensive homes did find some relief in the hottest metro areas, including San Diego, Los Angeles and the Bay Area. In San Francisco, the number of low priced homes on the market rose by 39% but there were fewer high priced homes on the market. While inventory was still tight there in October, the homes that were available spread evenly across the price spectrum. National rents were up 3.5% in October from a year ago. Month on month national rents were flat compared with September. Inventory of all homes nationwide rose by 15.8% year on year. A breakdown of the figures shows that in the bottom home price market it increased by 68.3% while in the top home price tier it rose 82.2%. In Denver, there were almost four times as many homes available for sale in the upper price tier, that is homes priced at $357,900 or more, than there were homes priced in the lowest price tier at less than $219,000. The same was true in many other markets. Dallas, Atlanta, Phoenix and Nashville had at least two times more homes for sale in the top tier than the bottom tier. In 25 of the 35 largest metros analysed there were more homes for sale this October than last October in all three price tiers. In 14 of those metros, the increase in number of homes for sale was in the double digits in all price tiers. ‘Depending on their finances, it's likely that individual buyers in the same market might be having completely different home buying experiences. Even as conditions improve for buyers overall, it remains a tough row to hoe for first time buyers and lower income buyers, especially compared to their more well off contemporaries,’ said Zillow chief economist Stan Humphries. Continue reading
Scottish rent rises outpace rest of UK
Scotland is seeing stronger annual rent growth than England and Wales, with average residential rents up 2.2% compared to a year ago, the latest index shows. In England and Wales monthly rents increased just 1.5% on average in the past year, according to data from lettings agent network Your Move. The average rent in Scotland now stands at £537 per month, back in line with the record set in August this year. Rents climbed a moderate 0.3% in the month to October, recovering from a dip during September. But taking a longer term view, the rate of growth has cooled. Annual rent rises have eased from a 3.2% increase over the year to October 2013. ‘Snags in supply and concerns over potential rent caps are setting the stride in Scotland, but in the longer term, the march of private sector rents is easing back on an annual basis. After years of consistency and incremental adjustments, rent rises quickened rapidly after the changes to lettings legislation made tenancy fees illegal. Instead of facing a one-off payment, tenants saw their monthly rents rise at a much accelerated pace. This market is only just starting to self correct and steady,’ said Christine Campbell, regional managing director of Your Move. ‘The introduction of any further lettings controls or restrictions by the Scottish government could further disrupt what was a healthy and extremely gradual rhythm of rent growth, to the detriment of thousands of renters. Complicating legislation would ostracise existing landlords and discourage new investment in the private rented sector, squeezing the supply of homes to let and simply adding to the bottleneck of the current housing shortage,’ she explained. ‘The private rented sector is the lifeblood of the economy, allowing workers flexibility and accessibility to the jobs market. Tenant demand needs to be balanced by greater availability of homes to let, to protect against unnaturally bloated rent increases,’ she added. A breakdown of the figures shows that on a monthly basis, rents are higher than September across all but one region of Scotland. The biggest month on month increase was recorded in the East, with rents climbing 1.1% between September and October. The data also shows that average rents in Edinburgh and the Lothians set a new peak of £615 per month, following 0.6% growth since September. The only region to experience a price fall on a monthly basis was Glasgow and Clyde where, the average monthly rent dropped £5 or 0.7% in the month to October, to £565. Rents have risen on an annual basis in three out of five regions of Scotland in October. Edinburgh and the Lothians have seen the strongest annual uplift in average monthly rents, rising 5.7% in the 12 months to October. This is followed by a 3.2% annual increase in Glasgow and Clyde, while rents in the East rose 2.2% over the last year. Rental prices dropped across two regions over the year to October. The average monthly rent in the South has fallen 0.5% since October 2013,… Continue reading
