Tag Archives: housing
RICS sets out bold new vision for UK property market
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has proposed a new solution to solve the UK's chronic housing shortage including the introduction of a new land classification. There are a raft of recommendations in the Property in Politics report with the new classification called Amberfield which would create a pipeline of 'ready to go' land, increase housing supply and promote development opportunities. Under RICS proposals, Local Authorities and communities will have to work together to label sites favourable for development as Amberfield and each Local Plan will have to include a set quota of Amberfield, ready to be developed for housing. The quota is expected to be set between 30 and 50% but the framework and guidelines for each quota would be open to consultation in order to match the specific needs of each Local Authority and community. Amberfield sites would have to be developed within five years and therefore Local Authorities will be required to approve planning consent for Amberfield within a set time frame, otherwise the Authority would risk being classed as 'failing' under the RICS proposed OfPlan assessment. The new classification will enable local housing needs to be met and would create a five year land supply that works for communities and builders. The community will have better understanding of the planning process, more control over what is built where, and be able to see the long term development plan. While both brownfield and greenfield play an important role in the current planning system, both classifications block or slow development and local growth is being impeded by extensive battles to bring forward land. RICS says that Amberfield will speed up the process and take out cost for both developers and local authorities, enabling homes to be built faster on the agreed sites. It will provide certainty to investors, unlocking development opportunities, and will also encourage local infrastructure investment. The review of land classification, coupled with the other RICS recommendations, including Development Delivery Units (DDUs) and a nationwide housing zones programme, will cut through the bureaucracy barriers, speeding up housing delivery and encouraging cooperation across local authority boundaries, stitching together the regions. The RICS Property in Politics report is the result of the largest consultation ever undertaken by RICS, with property professionals from across England sharing insight into the biggest challenges currently facing housing, planning and development, construction and infrastructure and what actions a future Government should take to remedy them. ‘A new classification labelled Amberfield would speed up the delivery of appropriate housing stock. The housing market plays a fundamental part in the UK economy and adequate, affordable housing supply is vital to the UK's economic growth. The planning system needs to be responsive to the needs of customers and increased confidence is needed in which sites can be taken forward,’ said Jeremy Blackburn, RICS Head of Policy. ‘We would suggest a quota of 50% Amberfield for most Local Authorities as it would enable them to deliver the appropriate housing stock required, but it… Continue reading
UK house prices up 11.7% year on year and national index reaches new record
UK house prices increased by 11.7% in the year to July 2014, up from 10.2% in the year to June 2014, according to the latest figures from the Office of National Statistics. House price annual inflation was 12% in England, 7.4% in Wales, 7.6% in Scotland and 4.5% in Northern Ireland. The index report says that overall house prices are increasing strongly across the UK, with prices in London again showing the highest growth. Annual house price increases in England were driven by an annual increase in London of 19.1% and to a lesser extent increases in the South East at 12.2% and the East at 10.6%. Excluding London and the South East, UK house prices increased by 7.9% in the 12 months to July 2014 and on a seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices increased by 1.6% between June and July 2014. In July 2014, prices paid by first time buyers were 13.5% higher on average than in July 2013. For owner occupiers prices increased by 10.9% for the same period. The mix adjusted house price index reached a record level of 206.6, some 2.7% higher than June 2014 when it reached 201.2, and 11.4% higher than the pre financial crisis peak of 185.5 in January 2008. David Newnes, director of Reeds Rains and Your Move estate agents, pointed out that while what’s happening in London may be eye-catching, it is like looking through a kaleidoscope and skews any view of the current total housing landscape. ‘Peeling back the regional layers gives a much more informed view of the core reality of the current market. According to our own research, house price growth slowed across all regions except for London, the South East and East Anglia in July. While these three regions continue to set new house price highs, the rest of the country is nowhere near these levels of growth,’ he explained. ‘Most recently we’re seeing asking prices in the capital start to be reined in, which will apply the brakes on annual house price inflation as the market steadies. With evidence of London starting to cool off after strong growth earlier in the year, it is critical that the underlying momentum that has stimulated much needed increased volume in the rest of the market is allowed freedom to keep moving, whilst any price rises are kept steady and under control,’ said Newnes. ‘Further afield, it is critical that support mechanisms like Help to Buy aren’t dismantled. Compared to the nadir of 2008/2012, activity in the housing market has improved, but is not completely out of the woods yet, and still needs to recapture some of the vitality of its pre-recession health,’ he concluded. Peter Rollings, chief executive officer of Marsh & Parsons, believes that the market is returning to business as usual. 'UK house price growth is persevering with its upward climb, but the stride is steadying with prices rising an orderly 1.6% in the month to July 2014. However, London remains the snag in the… Continue reading
Distressed sales fall in the US as transaction increase overall, latest index shows
US home sales increased by 8% year on year in February and 3.8% month on month, according to the latest data from CoreLogic. Sales rose to a non-seasonally adjusted annual sales pace of 4.09 million and the monthly rise was the highest sales pace for the month of February since 2007. Improvement in February home sales were led by newly constructed homes which increased by 23%, followed by re-sales which increased by 18%, the data also shows. Distressed sales, which include real estate owned (REO) and short sales, were on the decline, continuing the trend in the shift towards healthy home sales. Distressed sales accounted for 15.6% of total sales in February, a strong improvement from the same time a year ago when they made up 22.8% of total sales. REO sales were down 16% year on year, making up 11.4% of total sales while short sales were down 44% year on year, at just 4.3% of total sales in February. At its peak, the distressed sales share totalled 32.7% of all sales in January 2009, with REO sales making up 28.2% if that share. The firms says that the more recent shift away from REO sales is a driver of improving home prices, as REOs typically sell at a larger discount compared to healthy sales than do short sales. ‘There will always be some amount of distress in the housing market, so one would never expect a 0% distressed sales share, but the pre-crisis share of distressed sales was traditionally about 2%,’ the report explained. Michigan had the largest share of distressed sales of any state at 30.5% in February, followed by Illinois at 26.6%, Nevada at 26%, Florida at 24.8% and Georgia at 23.5%. California saw a 17.8% point drop in the distressed sales share, the largest of any state. Of the largest 25 Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs), Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights had the largest share of distressed sales at 29.5% followed by Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall at 27.9%, Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise at 27.2%, Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, at 27% and Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater at 25.5%. Sacramento-Roseville-Arden-Arcade had the largest drop in its distressed share, falling by 21.7% from 41.6% in February 2013 to 19.9% in February 2014. Continue reading
