Tag Archives: london
UK election not harming house price sentiment, latest index suggests
Households in the UK perceive that the value of their home rose in April despite the uncertainty being created by the country’s forthcoming general election, the latest sentiment index shows. Some 20.9% of the 1,500 households surveyed across the UK said that the value of their home had risen over the last month, while 4.5% reported a fall, according to the House Price Sentiment Index (HPSI) from Knight Frank and Markit Economics. This gave the HPSI a reading of 58.2, the 25th consecutive month that the reading has been above 50 and a slight increase on last month’s reading of 57.5, suggesting that households believe prices continued to rise in spite of the uncertainty surrounding the outcome of the election. ‘The outcome of the election may be uncertain, but there are some key factors underpinning house prices at present. Confidence in the economy continues to grow while the cost of living has stopped rising,’ said Grainne Gilmore, head of UK residential research at Knight Frank. ‘Mortgage rates have dipped to a new low, making owning a home for those who can clinch a mortgage deal cheaper than at any time before. The cost of buying a home for the majority of purchasers has also fallen after the reform of stamp duty in December last year. A lack of supply of homes for sale in recent months has also boosted prices,’ she explained. The future HPSI, which measures what households think will happen to the value of their property over the next year, also rose in April to 70.2, up from 69.6 in March and the highest reading so far this year. According to Tim Moore, senior economist at Markit, the UK housing market showed resilience in the face of upcoming election uncertainty, with April’s survey highlighting the first back to back monthly rise in house price sentiment for almost a year. ‘Reduced pressure on household finances, improving labour market conditions and low mortgage rates continued to support house price sentiment in April. However, stretched affordability and tighter lending conditions are keeping a lid on house price momentum,’ he said. He pointed out that on a regional basis, people living in the East of England are the most likely to anticipate rising property values over the next 12 months, followed by those living in the South East. Meanwhile, the gap between UK wide house price growth expectations and those in the capital fell to its joint lowest since the start of 2011. The report also shows that some 6.5% of UK households said they planned to buy a property in the next 12 months, up from 5.7% in March. On a regional basis, nearly one in 10 households in Wales is planning a purchase in the next 12 months, followed by those in the East of England where 9.5% of households said they would be buying a property in 2015. Individuals aged between 25 and 34 are more likely to be considering buying a home in… Continue reading
Most tenants fail to get all of their deposit back, new survey finds
The majority of people who’ve rented a property in the UK in the past five years have failed to get their full deposit back after vacating, new research has found. Some 52% of deposits were fully or partially withheld over the past five years, equivalent to more than 400,000 deposits per year and overall 80% of tenants had some degree of trouble getting their deposit back. The survey by London removals company Kiwi Movers also found that cleaning and minor repairs are the most common reasons for withheld deposits, however, 28% of respondents said their landlord delayed returning their deposit despite not making any deductions. Of those who said they experienced difficulties with their landlord when it came to the return of the deposit, 6% lost their entire deposit, the equivalent to 252,000 deposits being fully withheld over the past five years, and 46% lost part of their deposit. Some 20% said they got their full deposit back without any problems while 28% said they managed to get their deposit back in full only after a dispute with the landlord or letting agency. London is the deposit dispute hotspot, with residents in the capital almost twice as likely (11%) as the survey average (6%) to lose their whole deposit, while tenants aged between 18 and 24 living with friends, as opposed to living with a partner or spouse, living alone or with people they didn’t know prior to moving in, are most likely to lose their full deposit. ‘We've seen an increase in customers hiring professional cleaners before checking out of a rented property. It seems to be the only way to counter what they see as the inevitable attempts to withhold part of their deposit,’ said Kiwi Movers director Regan McMillan. ‘Our customers tell us they feel vulnerable unless they have paperwork to prove that they left the property in an acceptable state. Moving is stressful enough without having to worry about having your deposit unfairly withheld,’ he added. Amy Williams, a digital producer from Southampton took her London landlord to court and won after he withheld her deposit. ‘It was only a six month contract and the landlord tried to make us pay for problems that were in the flat when we moved in,’ she explained. ‘The court said it was wear and tear, ordered the landlord to return our deposit and told him that wear and tear was something he’d have to get used to. The landlord also choose to hold the court session not in London but on the south coast. But luckily because we won he had to pay for our train tickets too,’ she added. Daniel Zambas, a Manchester based musician, also took successful legal action against a former landlord. ‘The agent told us the landlord wasn’t going to return our deposit. We successfully challenged this and once we’d had our money… Continue reading
Christchurch housing market getting back to normal four years after earthquake
There has been a strong recovery in Christchurch’s residential housing market since the earthquakes in 2010 and 2011, according to the New Zealand government. Building and Housing Minister Nick Smith said that planning, median house price and average weekly rent data shows that supply and demand are getting back into balance since 10,500 homes were affected. Building consent data shows 1,134 new home building consents were issued in the year to February 2012, 1,509 to 2013, 2,818 to 2014, and 4,433 to 2015, totalling 9,894 homes. Median house prices increased from $320,000 in March 2012 to $359,000 in March 2013, a rise of 12% and to $401,000 in March 2014, another 12% rise, and to $415,000 in March this year, an increase of 3%. Average weekly rents in Christchurch increased from $344 in March 2012 to $378 in March 2013, a 10% rise, to $418 in March 2014, an 11% increase, to $418 in March this year, no increase. The Christchurch Housing Accord was developed in 2014 between the new council and the Government to complement the broad programme of work on Christchurch’s housing recovery, and to ensure stronger coordination between council and Government. The Government has initiated 10 different interventions and committed hundreds of millions of dollars to Christchurch’s post-earthquake housing recovery. These have included the provision of four temporary accommodation villages, additional support for emergency housing and Christchurch Housing Fund for joint housing developments between council and Government. Smith said that he is satisfied with the progress we have made in increasing the supply of new housing, but less satisfied that sufficient homes are being built in the more affordable range. ‘I am concerned at how difficult it is for first home buyers to get into the more expensive, post-earthquake housing market,’ he added. Smith hopes that the new KiwiSaver HomeStart package, which came into effect 01 April, will help the housing development sector to build more affordable homes. It includes grants of up to $20,000 for 12,000 first home buyers in Canterbury over the next five years for homes under $450,000. ‘The HomeStart scheme has been specifically tailored to the Christchurch recovery by allowing second chance first home buyers to be eligible, so that it will assist people who may not have been insured, or through other difficult circumstances, find themselves in a similar situation to a young person buying a first home,’ he explained. ‘The Christchurch housing market will be transitioning over the next two years to more normal market conditions. We will be reviewing the earthquake specific assistance packages as the market returns to normal, as well as ensuring that the momentum of the recovery continues,’ he added. Continue reading
