Tag Archives: london
Higher rents and continued lack of supply set to dominate 2016 UK housing markets
Residential rents are set to go up in 2016 and in the home buying market there is likely to be a growing struggle for those seeking to get on the housing market, according to a joint report from agents. According to the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARA) there are various pieces of legislation coming into play in 2016 which will result in increased compliance costs for landlords, and as a result push up rents for tenants. ‘We urge the Government to re-think its proposals around reducing Mortgage Interest Relief, scrapping the Wear and Tear Allowance and hiking up Stamp Duty by 3% on buy to let properties,’ said David Cox, ARLA managing director. ‘Whilst these remain, the Government’s goal of increasing the percentage of people in home ownership is getting further out of reach. The issue of supply and demand in the rental market will be increasingly pushed to its limit with rising demand outstripping supply,’ he added. He pointed out that the good news is that regulation in the industry looks like it will be tightening up in 2016. ‘We hope that the provisions of the Housing and Planning Bill, when brought into force, will give enforcing bodies and the courts more teeth in tackling rogue and criminal landlords and agents. This will develop in 2016 to enforce harsher penalties for landlords and unregulated agents that aren’t complying with basic laws,’ explained Cox. ‘The Right to Rent checks introduced in the Immigration Act 2014 will be rolled out nationally from 01 February 2016 following a successful pilot scheme in the West Midlands. However, we worry that the goodwill established towards the scheme may be tested by the increase in volume, disenfranchising landlords from the process,’ he added. Cox said that the industry is pleased that Rent Smart Wales will re-visit the Licensing Fee for agents in January. ‘We feel it is punitive and should be a graduated fee and not a flat rate. We also caution the Welsh Government to consider what resources are being put in place ahead of the enforcement roll out of Rent Smart Wales next November in order to achieve the stated aims of the Welsh Government,’ he pointed out. ARLA also backs recent plans from the Scottish Government for regulating the lettings industry which it described as ‘bold’. ‘We look forward to working with them during 2016 on the roll out of the proposals. However, we caution against the introduction of rent controls and the withdrawal of no-fault possession route for landlords as this will reduce investment in to the Scottish private rented sector at a time when rental housing is needed more than ever before,’ Cox added. Mark Hayward, managing director of the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA), believed that next year we will see a growing struggle for those trying to get onto the home ownership ladder, with house prices further beyond the reach of low to middle earners… Continue reading
Buying is still cheaper than renting in many US housing markets
Buying a home in the United States is still more affordable than renting in the majority of markets, according to the latest analysis from real estate data firm RealtyTrac. But the opposite is true in markets with the biggest increase in the millennial share of the population over the last six years, the research also shows. In the 473 counties covered by the research, the fair market rent for a three bedroom property in 2015 needed an average of 27% of median household income, while buying a median priced home required an average of 25% of median household income based on the median sales price in November. Buying a median priced home was more affordable than renting a three bedroom property in 68% of the counties analysed, representing 57% of the total population in those counties. But in the 25 counties with the biggest increase in millennials between 2007 and 2013, fair market rents for a three bedroom property in 2015 required 30% of the median household income on average while buying a median priced home required 36% of median household income on average. For the analysis millennials were defined as anyone born between 1977 and 1992. ‘First time buyers and potential boomerang home buyers are stuck between a rock and a hard place in today’s housing market. Many of the markets with the jobs and amenities they want have hard-to-afford rents and even harder to afford home prices while the more affordable markets have fewer well-paying jobs and tend to be off the beaten path,’ said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. ‘Those emerging markets with the combination of good jobs, good affordability and a growing population of new renters and potential first time buyers represent the best opportunities for buy and hold real estate investors to buy low and benefit from rising rents in the years to come,’ he added. The top markets with the biggest increase in the percentage of millennials over the past seven years were counties in Washington D.C., San Francisco and Denver, all of which saw an increase of more than 50% in the share of the population that is millennials. Other markets in the top 25 for biggest increase in millennials included counties in New York, Nashville, Portland, St. Louis, Seattle, Charlotte, Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Atlanta, Orlando, Austin, Des Moines and Midland, Texas. The average 2015 fair market rent in these top 25 counties is $1,459, some 19% above the national average for all counties analysed, the data also shows. On average 2015 fair rents increased 3% from a year ago in these counties, with the standouts being Denver County and Midland County, Texas, both of which saw fair market rents increase more than 2%. Median home prices increased 8% from a year ago in these counties on average compared to an average 7% increase among all counties analysed nationwide while the average unemployment rate among these counties was 5.2% in October compared to an average of 5.5% for all… Continue reading
UK home buyers make their mind up about a property quickly, research suggests
Britain is a nation of decisive home buyers who are quick to fall in love with a home and act fast to buy it, according to a new survey. Some 61% of home owners were able to buy the home they originally fell in love with and 25% were lucky enough for this to be the first home they viewed. This highlights the decisive nature of British home buyers, according to the survey report by conveyancing services firm My Home Move. The research also found that house hunters know extremely quickly whether they like a property with 26% making the decision to buy their home even before viewing the whole property. It also found that 18% make the decision within 30 seconds of entering the property and 8% knowing the property is for them before even entering. In contrast, 17% needed a second viewing to decide it was the home for them. On top of this the survey shows that 45% of buyers did not have to make any sacrifices or compromises when buying their home and are therefore living in their dream home. However, first time buyers and those in London are more likely to come to a compromise when buying a home with 11% finding it much harder to find their dream home and having to view 10 or more properties before finding the right one. The research also found that 39% had a perfect home that ‘got away’ and were not able to buy the property they originally fell in love with, and this was more likely to happen in London were 60% were disappointed in this way. Buyers in London were also more likely to make sacrifices or compromises when choosing their home and 70% said their current property did not have everything they wanted, compared to only 55% for Britain as a whole. The report suggests that this is due to the high demand and shortage of properties for sale in the capital, alongside rocketing prices, meaning buyers in London have fewer options to choose from. This also contrasts with other parts of the country, such as the North West, which saw only 44% having to make any sacrifices or compromises. First time buyers were worse hit by this reality when buying their home, with a significant majority of 83% aged 30 or below saying they had to make sacrifices or compromises when buying their home. In comparison, only 43% of home buyers aged above 51 said their home did not have everything they wanted. The most common reason home owners were not able to buy a property was being outbid by another buyer. This happened to 27% of buyers, and is much more likely among first time buyers than older home owners, with 41% of those aged under 30 being outbid, dropping to 26% or less for those aged above 51. Continue reading
