Tag Archives: london
Shortage of up supply pushing up UK house prices
House prices are continuing to rise across the UK driven by an ongoing shortage of new properties coming on to the market, according to the latest monthly survey report. The report from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors also shows that prices are rising at the fastest pace in East Anglia, the South East and the East Midlands. However, in London the rate of price growth is slowing for the fourth consecutive month. Driving the rise in prices, the number of new properties coming on the market fell for the tenth consecutive month. In November 8% more respondents reported a decrease in new homes coming on to the market. The report points out that this is a trend that has persisted since the beginning of 2014. On average over the past six months buyer demand has outpaced supply across all regions. Indeed, the number of properties on surveyor’s books reached a new low in November. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the lack of stock is holding back transaction levels and agreed sales were flat in November across the UK as a whole. Last year’s stamp duty changes are also mentioned as holding back the prime market in some areas of the UK, most notably London and the South East. Although supply is currently holding back sales, respondents across the UK are positive on the outlook for the coming months, with 47% more chartered surveyors expecting to see a rise rather than a fall in activity, up from 34% in October and is the highest reading for nearly two years. ‘This is likely to be the result of new housing policies announced in this year’s Autumn Statement. New Help to Buy and Starter Homes initiatives, aimed at increasing access to home ownership, are likely to result in increased sales over the coming months,’ said Simon Rubinsohn, RICS chief economist. However, the view is still that price levels will continue to rise perhaps signalling the view from respondents that although new house building is expected to increase the belief is that this will not be enough to take the market back to more sustainable levels,’ he explained. ‘As other changes in the Autumn statement perhaps start to influence the market, although buyer demand increased on a national level at a subdued pace, London and East Anglia both saw a decline in demand with 5% more respondents seeing a fall rather than rise in the capital, and 16% more seeing a fall rather than rise in the East,’ he pointed out. He believes that this may suggest that the timing of Help to Buy may be causing some buyers to hold back and this is borne out by the sales expectations in London over the next three months, with 49% more chartered surveyors expecting a rise this is the strongest reading in the UK. ‘I can’t recall a set of comments in the residential survey which have so frequently drawn attention to lack of stock on the… Continue reading
Auckland sees unexpected property price surge
Average residential property prices in Auckland, New Zealand’s most populous city, increased by 4.2% in November month on month, the biggest rise since March 2014. This took the average price of a home to $876,075 and marks a substantial monthly rise compared to the more modest increases seen in the last seven months. The data from real estate agent Barfoot & Thompson also shows that the median home price increased by 1.9% in November compared to October to $795,000. ‘You have to go back 20 months to March 2014 to find a bigger monthly increase in the average price. For the past seven months, monthly increases have been modest, but last month buyers were as committed as ever to meeting vendor expectations,’ said Barfoot & Thompson director Kiri Barfoot. But she pointed out that while prices have ignored Government and Reserve Bank measures designed to cool prices, there has been a measurable decrease in market activity. In October market activity slowed, and that trend continued into November. The number of sales in November fell 7.7% month on month, the firm’s lowest in a month since February. New listings for the month at 1,683 were also down by 7.5% compared with October and the lowest number in the past seven months. ‘It remains to be seen if prices continue to ignore the tighter regulations, or whether November's prices are the last remnants of momentum that built in the lead up to the introduction of the tighter measures,’ said Barfoot. The data also shows that the price segment which experienced the largest decline in sales numbers in November compared to October was the $500,000 to $750,000 category. In November 286 homes were sold in this price category compared to 353 in October. It is a price category popular with investors with portfolios of less than three properties. The number of sales in November between $750,000 and $1 million, and those over $1 million were similar in number to those sold in October, as was the number of homes sold for under $500,000. Continue reading
England and Wales house prices break new record, even as monthly growth falters
House prices in England and Wales increase £16,446 annually to £290,640, a 6% increase on November last year, according to the latest index figures. But the monthly rate of house price growth fell to 0.6%, slower than the 0.9% monthly uplift seen in October, the data from the Your Move index also shows. Excluding London and the South East, the annual rate of change drops to 4.4% but the capital is not seeing the strongest growth. While the South East overtook East Anglia as the region with the fastest growth in house prices, London dropped to fourth. The index also shows that home sales fell 15% in November, with completed sales for the year still 3.4% behind the same point in 2014. It is predicted that the Stamp Duty 3% surcharge on second homes and buy to let buyers may cause a late winter surge as these kind of buyers hurry to beat the April 2016 deadline for the new higher rate. Adrian Gill, director of Reeds Rains and Your Move estate agents, pointed out that despite being within grasping distance of the £300,000 mark, it may be a few months yet before average prices reach this symbolic level. He also pointed out that house prices in the South East have risen by an average of 7.1% this month, with values increasing in every local authority in the area. ‘It appears that the double digit price rises first seen in the prime London market, then the other London boroughs, are now rippling out even further to London’s commuter towns, with house prices in Reading rising by 18.3% and Luton increasing 17.3%,’ he explained. He believes that the housing market will need a Christmas boost to sales to beat last year’s figures. And the Chancellor’s changes could be the gift required. ‘House prices soared in the five months following Nigel Lawson’s withdrawal of the multiple mortgage tax relief in 1988,’ said Gill. ‘More recently in Scotland, after the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax was announced there was also a surge in the sales of high end properties to beat the deadline. England and Wales may now feel the same forces, as there will be a growth in demand from both first time buyers with extra financial support and buy to let landlords hoping to invest before the tax changes come into force,’ he explained. ‘While the Chancellor has planned to increase the number of houses being built, none of these will be completed in the next few months. As the number of houses on the market is at an historically low level, those rushing for the April deadline will be fighting for a decreasing number of properties. So we could see a spike in both house prices and sales over the normally frosty winter period,’ he added. He said that this potential surge in demand could be most obvious in places like Salcombe, Devon. The town has the highest percentage of second homes in England. In… Continue reading
