Tag Archives: housing
Majority of Americans believe in home ownership and are positive about the market
The majority of people in the United States believe that buying a home is a good financial decision, that now is a good time to buy and that they could sell their home for at least its initial purchase price. The survey from the National Association of Realtors which measures consumers' attitudes and concerns about housing issues in the nation's 50 largest metropolitan statistical areas, found that more than eight in 10 Americans are positive about the housing market. Some 68% believe that now is a good time to buy a home, 71% that they could sell their house for what they paid for it, a jump of 16% compared to 2013, the data shows. When asked for reasons about why home ownership matters to them, respondents’ answers have not changed significantly from past years. Building equity, wanting a stable and safe environment, and having the freedom to choose their neighbourhood remain the top three reasons to own a home. ‘Home ownership is part of the American Dream, and this survey proves that dream is alive and thriving in our communities,’ said NAR president Chris Polychron. The research also found that the number of renters who are now thinking about purchasing a home has increased since the last survey in 2013, up from 36% to 39and 61% said that owning a home is a priority for their future. According to the survey 80% of respondents believe that pre-purchase counselling programmes and classes are very or somewhat important. Indeed, 45% of home owners who said they did not take a counselling programme reported they would have taken part in one had it been easily available to them. Attitudes about the housing market have improved in recent years and 49% of respondents indicated that they feel activity in the housing market has increased in the past year, compared to 44% in 2013 and 12% in 2011. The study shows that 89% expect home sales in their area to either increase or remain the same. Concern about foreclosures has also declined, with only 15% of respondents indicating that foreclosure is a major concern. In addition to improved attitudes about the housing market, survey participants also showed an improved outlook regarding the economy. Only 36% think that job layoffs and unemployment are a big problem, a substantial drop from 45% in 2013. Perceived obstacles to home ownership have remained mostly unchanged compared to recent years and 78% of respondents pointed to college debt and student loans as the main obstacle to making a home purchase affordable. On top of this 76% said they have a full time job but still did not make enough money to purchase a home while 74% believe they do not have enough money for a down payment and closing costs. As the market has improved, concern about the cost of housing has increased. Two thirds of survey participants said that home prices are more expensive than they were a year ago. There is… Continue reading
Concerns voiced about new simplified tenancies bill in Scotland
Simplified residential tenancies are now being introduced in Scotland but experts warn that more needs to be done to maintain supply in the private rented sector and attract more investment. Scottish Housing Minister Margaret Burgess said the changes outlined in the Private Tenancy Bill will give tenants greater security and stability in their home and community. ‘It will also give landlords reassurance that their tenants will treat their property as a long term home, rather than somewhere temporary,’ she pointed out. ‘The private rented sector is changing. It is now home to a growing number of people in Scotland, and we recognise there are some areas where rents are increasing significantly. It is right and responsible to give local authorities the ability to introduce rent controls in order to ease areas under pressure,’ she added. The Scottish Association of Landlords said there while there is a broad agreement that the rental regime in the private rented sector needed to be modernised as part of a drive to increase standards and protect tenants, there are concerns that it could harm investment in a sector which is said to have a key role to play in solving Scotland's long term housing crisis. ‘We have particular concerns about measures such as rent controls, as well as removing the right of a landlord to end a lease naturally, subject to a reasonable notice period,’ said SAL chief executive John Blackwood. ‘While we understand the political pressure to tackle rent rises in hotspots such as Aberdeen and Edinburgh, we are concerned these measures could harm investor confidence and drive landlords out of the market, leaving a vacuum that could be filled with less than scrupulous individuals,’ he explained. ‘The way to reduce rent levels in a sustainable manner is to increase housing supply, not punishing landlords that are investing tens of thousands of pounds in their properties,’ he added. According to Scottish Land & Estates the sector also needs to attract new investment, especially in rural areas. Its members are at the forefront of supplying rural housing across the country, many at affordable rents, and the organisation said there were many positive elements to the Bill but that certain elements could impact on rural housing supply. ‘We welcome the degree of clarity that the introduction of the Bill has provided and we can see that there are many positive elements to the government’s proposals. The simplification of the tenancy regime is something that we have long argued for and it is pleasing that the Scottish Government has made a concerted effort to address the need for reform,’ said Katy Dickson, policy officer for business and property at Scottish Land & Estates. She explained that the introduction of a single notice to leave system, with robust and reasonable grounds on which to end a tenancy is to be welcomed, and increased notice periods will hopefully address many of the concerns regarding security and certainty raised during the… Continue reading
Average rent of newly let home in UK now close to £1,000 per month
The average rent of a newly let home in the UK has increased by 3.6% year on year to £941 per month, according to the latest rental market index. The gap between the places where people can afford to rent and where they can afford to buy has widened in every year since the market downturn in 2008, the data from Countrywide plc also shows. People are also moving further away if they buy a home. The index report says that 51% who took their first steps on the housing ladder in 2015 bought outside the town or city where they had been renting, up from 39% in 2008. With house prices rising faster than rents, an increasing number of households find themselves renting in places where they couldn’t afford to buy and tenants in the South of England tend to move furthest to get on the housing ladder. This is where the gap between where people can afford to rent and buy is largest and has widened the most since 2012. Across London and the South East house prices have increased 42% since 2012, rising from £218,000 to £375,000. Over the same period rents have only increased 19% from £1,000 to reach £1,234 a month. The growing number of tenants moving further to buy is both a product of stretched affordability and first time buyers getting older, the report suggests, adding that tenants are increasingly choosing to compromise on location in in order to own their first home. Those renters who bought a home in the last year, bought in a place where the average house price was £35,000 lower than where they were renting. Across the UK as a whole, two thirds of tenants bought in a cheaper area but there were even more in the most expensive housing markets. In London some three quarters of tenants who bought in the last year, ended up living somewhere cheaper than where they had been renting with an average price gap between the two places of £93,000. Further north, however, a rather different picture starts to emerge. In some of the less expensive areas of the country, tenants tend to be less constrained by affordability when making the move into home ownership. Tenants buying in the North East, North West and Yorkshire, tend to buy in similarly priced areas to where they are renting. The average difference in price between where they were renting and where they bought is just £8,000. In a number of the cheapest northern cities such as Newcastle, the average tenant buying their first home actually moves from a cheaper area to a more expensive one. In addition to affordability, space is a deciding factor of where tenants choose to purchase, according to the report. Irrespective of location, those tenants making the move further afield also tend to buy the largest homes. Nationally, 32% of… Continue reading
