Tag Archives: london
Gazumping falls overall in the UK residential property market
Despite a shortage of supply in the UK property market, the number of UK buyers being gazumped has dropped over the last 10 months, new research shows. The practice, where a buyer makes a higher offer for a house than someone whose offer has already been accepted by the seller and thus succeed in acquiring the property, has fallen by 40% since October 2014, according to a survey by online estate agent eMoov. A year ago some 22% of all home owners had been gazumped during their property purchase, however this has now reduced to 13%, particularly in Brighton which is no longer the gazumping hot spot with a fall of 68% in the practice. Gazumping is also down in London by 46% with just 17% of buyers in London having experienced gazumping first hand. The firm suggests that this could be because prices and demand have levelled out. Sheffield is named as the new gazumping capital of the UK. Some 29% of buyers in the city have been gazumped when looking to purchase a property, an increase of 25% over the last 10 months. The firm says that since December 2014, Sheffield has seen a steady increase in demand, up by 35% overall and this is almost certainly the main contributing factor to the increase in gazumping, as desperate buyers scramble to get a foot on the ladder by any means possible. Plymouth has also seen an increase in gazumping of 31% which coincides with a strong uplift in property demand in the area since the end of last year with growth of 27%. Newcastle is the only other UK city to see an increase in gazumping during this time frame, with 16% of buyers being gazumped, a rise of 12%. Other cities where gazumping is still more prevalent despite a drop are Birmingham at 17%, Leeds at 16%, Manchester at 15%, Nottingham and Bristol both at 12% and Brighton at 11%. At just 2%, Southampton had the lowest rate of gazumping in the UK. Continue reading
Property price growth picks up pace across UK cities, latest index shows
Property price growth in key UK cities has picked up pace with annual growth running at 8.5%, up from 7.2%, according to the latest index from real estate analytics firm Hometrack. Growth over the last three months of 4.3% is at the fastest rate for 11 years, the data from the index, which covers 20 main cities, shows. The index report says that growing house price momentum is on the back of a 32% increase in sales volumes since April and a sustained catch-up in prices in cities outside southern England. There remains further upside for house prices in regional cities outside London, it adds, and city level price inflation remains on course to end the year at 10%. All cities with the exception of Aberdeen are registering house growth ahead of growth in average earnings which is currently 2.4%. The highest year on year growth is 10.9% in Cambridge followed by Oxford, London and Bristol. The lowest growth rate is in Aberdeen with a fall of 0.7% and the report suggests that the weakness in the oil price is impacting the local economy and demand for housing. Other cities with below average house price growth are Newcastle, Liverpool and Sheffield where annual growth is running between 2.5% and 4.5%. The report also says that there is room for further catch-up in house prices. Nine of the 20 cities still have average prices that are lower than 2007 levels although this gap is narrowing rapidly. The relative performance of house prices since 2007 remains wide and reflects different economic and demand side drivers of house prices. Average prices in London are 40% higher than in 2007 and 14% higher in Bristol. Cities such as Edinburgh and Glasgow have registered a resurgence in growth more recently post the Scottish referendum although average prices remain 2% and 11% below their peak. Looking ahead, the report says that low mortgage rates, economic growth and rising earnings will continue to stimulate demand and put an upward push on house prices across most cities. As an international city, London is out on its own setting new highs for prices and unaffordability. ‘How long this can be sustained is down to the prospects for the different segments of demand, specifically international buyers, domestic investors and domestic home owners,’ the report explains. ‘Overall we expect city level house price inflation to remain on course to end the year at 10% year on year,’ it concludes. Continue reading
UK households positive about property market, latest sentiment index shows
Households in all regions of the UK perceived that the value of their home rose in August, and at a faster pace than in July, according to the latest house sentiment index. It is the first rise in the index from Knight Frank and Markit Economics in the month of August, which is typically a quieter summer period, since 2009. The index, regarded as a bellwether for house price growth across the country, says that it reflects the upward pressure on house prices due to a lack of sock across the residential property market. Households in all UK regions expect house prices to rise over the next 12 months, although the rate of expected increases eased in many regions including London and the South East and some 6.6% of households expect to buy a home over the next 12 months, up from 5.3% in the previous month and the joint highest since July 2014. Some 23.6% of the 1,500 households surveyed across the UK said that the value of their home had risen over the last month, the second highest reading since October last year. Just over 4% said that prices had fallen, resulting in a HPSI reading of 59.5. This is the twenty ninth consecutive month that the reading has been above 50. Any figure over 50 indicates that prices are rising, and the higher the figure, the steeper the increase. Any figure below 50 indicates that prices are falling. August’s reading marked a rise from the 58.6 recorded in July, and while matching June’s reading, it remains well below the record high of 63.2 achieved in May last year. Households in all 11 regions reported that prices rose in May, with those in the South East at 64.3 reporting the biggest rise. This is only the second time in the last four years that the perceived increase in South East prices has outstripped that in London. In fact, the reading for London eased notably after a spike in July, dipping from 69.6 to 63.4, the second largest monthly drop since late 2010. While Londoners still perceive that prices are rising, they are reporting that the pace of increases has eased. Tim Moore, senior economist at Markit, pointed out that UK house price sentiment has now strengthened considerably from the year and a half low reached in February. ‘While still below the high water mark reached last May, the latest survey indicates that perceptions of rising property values are more widespread than at any time seen during the five years leading up to 2014,’ he said. ‘The uptick confounds the usual seasonal summer lull and comes in spite of heightened expectations of a Bank of England rate rise next year. In particular, August’s spike in current price perceptions across the South of England suggests that an acute shortage of supply remains the major factor driving up property values,’ he explained. ‘Looking ahead, the prospect of a rate hike next year does appear… Continue reading
