Tag Archives: london
Average rents rising across the UK as regions catch up with London growth
The average rent on a tenancy signed in the UK during the three months to April 2015 was £916, some 10% higher than a year ago, according to the latest index to be published. The data from the HomeLet rental index also shows that excluding London the rise is 7.4% taking average rents to £730 and rents are rising across the country apart from Wales. In Scotland average rents increased annually by 6.2% to £635, in Northern Ireland they were up 5.2% to £594, but in Wales they fell by 0.7% to £573. It also reveals that after a year of rents in London rising at over twice the rate of the UK average, growth rates have now converged with the annual increase in Greater London at 7.5%. On a regional basis the South West has seen the highest annual growth at 15.5% followed by East Anglia at 8.4%, taking the average in these regions to £877 and £778 respectively. Rents are up annually by 7.9% in the West Midlands, by 7.4% in the South East and by 4.3% in Yorkshire and Humber, taking average rents to £645, £916 and £598 respectively. In the North East they are up 3.9% to £526, in the North West 3.8% to £668 and in the East Midlands 3.4% to £588. The monthly figures show more variation with Yorkshire and Humber seeing a fall of 2.1%, a decline of 1.1% in the East Midlands and a fall of 0.5% in the North West. ‘For the first time we are seeing rent price growth rates in Greater London converge with those across the rest of the UK. During 2014, London rent price growth far outpaced other regions but in 2015 we are seeing the emergence of a different pattern,’ said Martin Totty, chief executive officer of Barbon Insurance Group, parent company of HomeLet. ‘What this tells us is that the private rental market is experiencing demand nationwide and that it is not simply a London phenomenon that increasing numbers of people are requiring privately rented property,’ he explained. ‘While there have been periods in recent years where London’s rent price growth has moved more in line with other parts of the UK, most notably during the period following the financial crisis, the capital has always remained significantly ahead,’ he pointed out. ‘The convergence suggests that after a lengthy period of substantial outperformance in terms of rental increases, the pace of growth in London has slowed while the rest of the UK is catching up,’ he added. Continue reading
More British buyers interested in property in Italy, research suggests
Favourable exchange rates have led to more potential British buyers looking at the Italian property market and they are also considering more expensive houses, it is claimed. The value of the Italian real estate for which the British have made requests has almost doubled, up 90%, in the last year, according to research from Gate-Away, an online real estate portal that promotes Italian properties to overseas buyers. If in the first quarter of 2014 the average value was €190,000 but in the first three months of this year it was €324,000. The number of requests from the United Kingdom has also increased strongly, up 87.5% in the first quarter of 2015 compared to the same period in 2014. The UK is still the country which generates the highest number of requests with 17.6% of the total, ahead of the United States at 14.2% and France at 9.3%. This is set to continue, the firm says, as the current favourable exchange rate allows the same Sterling budget to stretch to properties which have a much higher value in Euros compared to last year. Requests from the United Kingdom for properties under €100,000 fell from 45% in the first quarter of 2014 to 39% in the first quarter of 2015, contrary to what happened with regard to buildings above €500,000, demand for which rose from 4.9% to 10.7%. ‘The average value of the Italian properties sought by the British has grown tremendously in this first quarter, and even beyond the depreciation of the Euro against the pound,’ said Simone Rossi, commercial director of Gate-Away. ‘More and more Brits that ever are being driven by the favourable economic climate and are finding that the Italian real estate market is far from inaccessible and beginning to consider the idea of buying a house in Italy very seriously,’ added Rossi. The research also shows that after years of unchallenged domination by Tuscany, in the first quarter Puglia topped the list of locations most desired by British buyers with 13.9% of total requests, just ahead of Tuscany at 11.8%, Piedmont at 9.6%, Abruzzo at 9.4% and Liguria at 9.3% of the requests. Some 80% of the requests by the United Kingdom were for individual houses and 20% for apartments. Some 55.7% of the requests are for properties which are already habitable and 20% for property to be restored, which confirms that the English have a preference for this particular type of investment abroad. Continue reading
Demand for prime properties in London hotspots up 6% since February
Demand for properties in prime central London has increased by 6% since February with areas like Islington and Chiswick more popular than Kensington, new research suggests. The biggest increase in demand has been in Chiswick with a rise of 54%, followed by Islington up 30%, Belgravia up 22%, Knightsbridge up 21%, Mayfair up 8% and Chelsea up 1%. However 44% of areas are still in decline with Primrose Hill down 71%, St Johns Wood down 36%, Fitzrovia down 30%, Holland Park down 24% and Kensington down 16%, according to the property hotspots index from online estate agent eMoov. The index looks at demand for property over £2 million in 16 of London's most prestigious neighbourhoods, examining the total number of properties sold in comparison to those on sale. The latest figures show that the property freeze in prime central London has thawed ever so slightly since February, with the demand percentage rising by 6% on average. However, nearly half of the areas in question, 44%, have continued to decline substantially. The index report points out that although these areas would have been hit by a mansion tax, last week's election result will have restored confidence in buyers looking to buy at the top end of the market. Since eMoov's February index there has also been an increase of 5% in the number of properties over £2 million listed for sale, to the two major portals, Rightmove and Zoopla. This increase was driven for the most part by Fulham, Belsize Park, Notting Hill, Primrose Hill, Islington and Chiswick. Russell Quirk, chief executive of eMoov pointed out that uncertainty caused by the general election meant many potential buyers were waiting to see the outcome before committing to a property above £2 million. ‘We are already aware of a significant increase in buyer activity since the election. It is most likely this is going to translate into a more buoyant picture in the months to come,’ he added. Continue reading
