Tag Archives: housing
Research reveals how much home prices change in London commuter areas
Home owners who work in London can save £3,000 on a property for every minute of commuting outside of the UK’s capital city. New research from real estate firm Savills that looked at 100,000 house sales recorded around 314 stations on the outskirts of the capital found how prices rise as addresses edge closer to the city. It found that for each minute less spent on the train into central London, buyers should expect to pay a further £3,048 to secure the property. The average house price in inner London is £606,000, but by comparison, commuter locations within half an hour’s train ride from London have an average property price of £458,000. Further out the average price is just £337,000 for those with a journey time between 60 and 69 minutes. The most expensive place to buy at the furthest reasonable distance from the city, said to be 60 to 69 minutes commute, was close to Shelford station in Cambridge where the average house price is £622,451. In contrast, homes near Southend Central in Essex which is also just over an hour from London tended to sell for around £188,000, suggesting buyers pay not just for journey time but location too. Moving just 10 minutes closer to London results in a huge difference in price. In Sunningdale in Berkshire, for example, where the train takes 50 to 59 minutes, the average family home costs £930,000. Cutting another 10 minutes off the commute to work brings in Shiplake station in Oxfordshire where houses last year changed hands for around £1 million. The research report points out that house prices in London are currently 2.3 times the UK average, the largest differential since records began in 1973, according to data from the Nationwide. This has led many households currently living in the capital to face a choice of accepting a twice daily train journey, commuting costs and hassle in return for more affordable house prices and lifestyle benefits. Of course, any house price savings must be set against the cost of commuting. An annual rail and underground season ticket now costs from £2,400 to nearly £10,000, depending on length of journey and rail provider. Despite this, savings on house prices will more often than not outweigh the travel costs. An analysis of Savills buyers in the London commuter belt shows 30% of sales over the first quarter of 2016 were to those relocating from London compared to just 23% during the same period in 2015. The firm expects this trend to continue as the ripple effect continues to take hold. Continue reading
New scheme launches to help UK home owners susceptible to flooding
A scheme has been launched in the UK to help people with properties in areas susceptible to flooding to get affordable home insurance. Flood Re is described by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) as a word first. It is not a home insurer but will work behind the scenes with existing insurance companies so that people with home in are most likely to flood can shop around to find policies with affordable premiums and excesses. ‘It’s great to see so many insurers ready to make use of Flood Re from launch. The launch is just the start of a process and we know more providers will join them over time, bringing even more choice for people with homes at risk of flooding,’ said James Dalton. Director of general insurance policy as the ABI. ‘Insurance is an essential safeguard for your home and belongings. People in flood risk areas not being able to access affordable cover was a major concern, and why the insurance industry went to great lengths to design and create this world-first solution along with Government,’ he added. But research by home insurance expert Admiral suggests more needs to be done to educate those affected as only one in seven of have heard of the Flood Re scheme. It found that despite 67% believing severe flooding events will become more frequent in coming years, just 15% said they worry about their own home flooding. Relatively few people surveyed, just 7% said they have suffered a flood in the past, but it’s clear that for those that were, it was devastating. Admiral asked them the worst thing about their own flooding experience and 21% said the destruction of their furniture and carpets while 16% said it was the emotional stress that the flood caused. ‘Although Flood Re won’t prevent flooding, it is good news for home owners who have been previously flooded or who have had difficulty getting insurance because their home is at risk of flooding. However our research shows only 15% have heard of the scheme,’ said Noel Summerfield, head of household at Admiral. Flood Re works by charging all home insurers a fee and it’s this fee along with other charges to insurers using the scheme that pays for any associated flood claims. It is launched at a time when the Environment Agency estimates that one in six homes are at risk of flood in England alone. Most experts agree that incidents of flooding are likely to become more commonplace. Not everyone Admiral surveyed would be put off buying a house if there was a risk it might flood, only 62% said they would never consider buying a home that was at risk of flooding, no matter its price. Some 12% said they would consider buying a home if the price it was up to 30% below its true cost. While 29% would do it if they could get up to 50% off its true cost. However a house that is prone to… Continue reading
Experts warn that new UK additional home property tax will result in rent rises
Rent prices in the UK will rise as a result of the new stamp duty rate being introduced on 01 April for additional properties as it will hit landlords of buy to let properties, it is claimed. The extra tax, which affects anyone buying an additional home, is seen as a huge burden for the UK’s private rental sector as a time when there is increased demand for rented homes. ‘We’re about to see supply nose dive, demand rocket and rent prices go through the roof. The introduction of the new stamp duty charges is set to push the private rental sector into a state of despair,’ said David Cox, managing director of the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA). ‘Back in November, when the Chancellor announced an increase in stamp duty tax on buy to let properties we called this a huge kick in the teeth for the private rented sector. The news that larger investors will also have to pay the tax comes is an even bigger blow,’ he pointed out. The Chancellor had originally said that professional landlords who normally own more than 15 properties, would be exempt, but announced in his Budget a few weeks ago that they would not. ‘We are very likely to see the new tax discouraging landlords from investing in buy to let properties, which will of course mean supply falls. In order for landlords to be able to afford to own a buy to let property, tenants will begin to see the additional costs passed onto them, which means they could see less money spent on maintaining their property, and also an increase in rent costs,’ Cox pointed out. He also explained that a recent announcement over tougher rules for buy to let mortgages will not help the sector. ‘Whilst we recognise the need to look at the important issue of affordability, the proposed measures are far too tough and are yet another assault on the rental market,’ added Cox. ‘Something urgently needs to be done to make the prospect of being a buy to let landlord appealing again, or the vicious cycle of supply and demand is only going to get worse and worse,’ he concluded. Online property marketplace LendInvest has carried out research on the impact of the stamp duty change for those buying additional properties which shows that landlords in London and the South East will need longest to repay the higher tax while Darlington, Halifax and Doncaster are among the worst affected. Landlords in Inner London and Harrow will need the equivalent of 20 months’ rent or more to repay higher stamp duty and landlords in 13% of the country will pay it for the first time as there is no zero rating for additional homes as there is for first homes at £125,000. Towns like Sunderland, Blackburn, Wigan and Oldham could be particularly badly impacted as rental yields are comparatively good but average house prices are below £125,000 meaning stamp duty… Continue reading
