Tag Archives: investment
Pilot programme underway in UK for new homes on derelict and underused land
Pioneering councils are to help lead the way in bringing forward derelict and underused land for new homes in the UK, it has been announced. Some 73 councils across England will pilot one of the new brownfield registers, which will provide house builders with up to date and publicly available information on all brownfield sites available for housing locally. According to Communities Secretary Greg Clark the registers will help house builders identify suitable sites quickly, speeding up the construction of new homes and they will also allow communities to draw attention to local sites for listing, including in some cases derelict buildings and eyesores that are primed for redevelopment and that could attract investment to the area. The government has pledged one million more homes and to get planning permission in place on 90% of suitable brownfield sites for housing. This move ramps up the brownfield land building commitment. ‘A key part of our ambition to build a million homes is to get work started on brownfield sites across the country, many of which are currently nothing more than blight on a community’s landscape,’ said Clark. ‘These councils will be at the forefront of these efforts to list land and encourage builders to deliver new homes for aspiring home owners. But this is just the first step and I would urge councils to continue to offer up brownfield sites to deliver the homes their residents want and need,’ he added. Housing Minister Brandon Lewis explained that the councils taking part in the brownfield pilots will inform future government policy and guidance on the operation of the brownfield registers. ‘Registers will eventually become mandatory for all councils under proposals going through Parliament in the Housing and Planning Bill,’ he said, adding that other measures in the Housing and Planning Bill will enable ‘permission in principle’ to be granted for housing led development sites listed on the new brownfield registers. ‘This will mean developers building new homes on brownfield land will have a greater degree of certainty in relation to location, use and the amount of development,’ he explained. Each council agreeing to be part of the pilot project will receive £10,000 government funding to help the establishment of their brownfield registers. The 15 councils with the most brownfield land taking part in the brownfield register pilot project are: Cherwell, County Durham, Huntingdonshire, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Medway, Newcastle upon Tyne, Peterborough, Selby, Sheffield, South Cambridgeshire, Sunderland, Tonbridge and Malling and Wigan. These have the most brownfield land in England, as identified in the final complete publication of National Land Use Database statistics. A further 36 areas made up of 58 councils (some bids are joint) were selected on a competitive basis. Continue reading
UK landlords fear more woe in UK Budget
Landlords in the UK are concerned that the forthcoming Budget speech by the Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne could hold more bad news for their property investments. Some 66% feel there will be more bad news and a fifth are already planning to pull out of buy to let this year, according to new research by property crowd funding platform The House Crowd. It suggests that property investors feel increasingly under attack, with legislation such as the EU Mortgage Credit Directive and increase in stamp duty on buy to let properties coming into force. Over 70% of those surveyed believe that these changes will have a negative impact on their investments, with smaller investors set to be hit hardest by ever tightening profit margins. 43% feel that the government is trying to squeeze small investors out of the market altogether. Over half, 54%, of landlords indicated that they do, however, support tighter regulation from the Bank of England to clamp down on rogue landlords. Despite sentiment towards traditional buy to let turning sour, it appears that investors still view bricks and mortar as the best way to secure their futures. The UK wide survey found 33% still prefer to invest their money in property as it is a tangible asset. It also found that 38% think landlords need to be looking at smarter ways to invest while 57% think buy to let will remain a strong option as there is a continued housing shortage in the UK. ‘With house prices continuing to rise and the property market outperforming the FTSE, bricks and mortar presents a strong investment option,’ said Frazer Fearnhead, chief executive officer of The House Crowd. ‘Despite this, new legislation is making buy to let ever less accessible for the small landlords who want to invest in something sensible and tangible to secure their futures. As many of the landlords surveyed identified it's time for beleaguered investors to be looking at their options,’ he pointed out. ‘February was our strongest month yet, as investors turn to property crowdfunding to achieve the returns that property offers minus the stress and risk of being a landlord. Times are hard for the UK's small property investors but it's time to adapt, not despair,’ he added. Continue reading
Research suggests many UK buy to let landlords plan to sell up
The proportion of landlords in central London who intend to sell property has quadrupled since last year’s Budget, according to new research. Just 4% of landlords in central London had plans to sell property when surveyed before last year’s Budget but new figures from the National Landlords Association (NLA) show that has risen to 19%. The 15% increase in intention to sell property is the highest witnessed across the UK over the last six months. Landlords with property in the North East have seen the smallest increase compared to other regions of the UK, rising from 17% in June to 24% in January. According to the NLA the restriction to mortgage interest relief for individual residential landlords announced during last year’s Summer Budget will leave many landlords worse off, forcing some basic rate tax payers into a higher tax bracket and leaving higher and additional rate payers with considerably bigger tax bills. The NLA has labelled the changes the Turnover Tax, because landlords’ tax will be calculated on the rental income they earn, rather than their profits. ‘Local property markets vary greatly across the United Kingdom, but we are seeing a loss of confidence across the board as many landlords realise they won’t be able to remain in the market,’ said Richard Lambert, NLA chief executive officer. ‘If landlords follow through with their intentions over the coming months this could lead to a massive sale of property, as we have previously warned. However, this may not be a straightforward process, especially for those with stock in low demand areas,’ he pointed out. ‘We urge those considering selling up to think about when they will need to do so, and to plan ahead now in order to minimise the risk of losing money as a result of a failure to sell,’ he added. Separate research shows that 59% of landlords are shelving plans to make further investments in buy to let or even selling their existing properties with tougher mortgage rules, the stamp duty change and mortgage interest tax relief behind their thinking. The research by property crowdfunding platform Property Partner also found that 27% of landlords had little or no awareness of the changes which are likely to affect their financial circumstances. Some 41% of those questioned say they plan to continue buying properties for rent, 38% say they are switching strategies. Continue reading
