Tag Archives: london
UK house price sentiment moderates
Almost 20% of households in the UK perceived that the value of their home rose in January, according to the latest House Price Sentiment Index which reveals a downward trend in 2014. Some 19.5% of the 1,500 households surveyed across the UK said that the value of their home had risen over the last month, while 3.1% reported a fall, the data from Knight Frank and Markit Economics shows. This gave the HPSI a reading of 58.2, the twenty second consecutive month that the reading has been above 50. The index report points out that the HPSI was on a general downward trend for most of the second half of 2014. January’s reading of 58.2, the lowest in 14 months, was a continuation of this trend and well below the average reading for last year of 61. In spite of the month on month fall, households in all 11 regions covered by the index reported that prices rose in January, led by Londoners at 65.3 and households in the South East at 63, while, households in the North West at 53 and Wales at 53.9 perceived the slowest rates of price growth over the course of the month. In London, perceptions of house price growth moderated compared to the previous month and stand well below the previous high of 74.9 in April last year, suggesting that households are less confident that the value of their property has risen than previously. The future HPSI, which measures what households think will happen to the value of their property over the next year, fell in January to 69.5, down from 70.5 the previous month. This was the second consecutive monthly fall in house price expectations across the UK. The future HPSI stands well below its record high of 75.1, which was seen in May 2014. Households in London at 75.3 are the most likely to expect price rises over the next 12 months, followed by those in the South West at 75.1 and the South East at 74.9, the index shows. Expectations of price growth are highest among mortgage borrowers and those who own their home outright with readings of 75.8 and 71.3 respectively, followed by those living rent free at 66.8. ‘House price sentiment has slowed across the country despite the cut in stamp duty introduced by the Chancellor in December. Households in London and the South East signal slower annual rises in house prices this month than last month, an important development as these areas have been the engines of high house price growth over the last year,’ said Grainne Gilmore, head of UK residential research at Knight Frank. ‘Even the prospect of record-low interest rates being in place for longer than anticipated has not been enough to lift expectations for house price growth on a monthly basis in January, however this, coupled with an expected rise in wage growth will likely result in modest price uplifts over 2015,’ she added. Tim Moore, senior economist at… Continue reading
UK home sales steady, seasonally adjusted figures show
Sales of residential property in the UK remained steady at the end of 2014, with seasonally adjusted transaction levels in December around the same level as November. The HMRC statistics also show that sales in December 2014 were 0.4% lower compared with the same month in 2013 and on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, residential property transactions increased 2.3% year on year. Peter Rollings, chief executive officer of Marsh & Parsons, pointed out that while other housing market indicators started to flounder towards the end of 2014, sales held steady. ‘The additional pressure of loan to income caps and stricter affordability regulations has slowed mortgage lending somewhat, but consumer confidence hasn’t slipped and the Stamp Duty overhaul is injecting a new lease of life into demand in the New Year,’ he explained. ‘House price growth was fading in the final few months of the year, as increased supply of housing stock relaxed the competition on the market and gave buyers a breather. Demand continues to be healthy, and combined with rock-bottom interest rates and attractive mortgage products, activity will pulse through the market and push forward further price rises According to Danny Waters, chief executive officer of Enterprise Finance, while December is traditionally a quiet time of year for residential property transactions, the non-residential market isn’t bound by the same conventions and saw an uptick at the end of 2014. ‘Whereas home seekers don’t want the upheaval of completing and moving around Christmas time, businesses often don’t have the same luxury of placing plans on the back burner and have to act more decisively,’ he pointed out. ‘These latest figures and the year on year improvement suggest a non-residential market headed in the right direction, but commercial mortgages can still be harder to obtain than residential home loans if buyers don’t look in the right places,’ he explained. ‘Indifferent attitudes from high street banks mean non-residential purchasers are often better served by specialist lenders and brokers are well positioned to help introduce the two,’ he added. Continue reading
Outlook positive for Scottish property sales and lets in 2015
The outlook for the Scottish property market is optimistic for 2015, following a successful year in 2014 with encouraging levels of activity throughout the country and a return to some competitive bidding. There was a 24% increase in the number of sales in the final quarter of 2014 compared to the third quarter. As well as the improvement in sales figures, there was also a 23% increase in the number of viewings against 2013’s figures for the final quarter, according to data from independent property consultancy CKD Galbraith. Throughout 2014, CKD Galbraith handled property in excess of £375million covering property throughout the whole of Scotland. Prices achieved for all properties sold by the firm during 2014 were, on average 1.54% over the asking price. According to the firm Edinburgh has been one of the year’s successful markets despite a slowdown due to the independence referendum vote in September 2014. In the fourth quarter of the year property sales and registration figures in Edinburgh continued to grow on the previous quarter’s figures according to new research conducted by the firm’s office in the capital city. Overall the number of properties sold through CKD Galbraith increased by 50% from the third to fourth quarter and the number of interested buyers registering with the firm rose by 51% compared to the last quarter as well. Average house prices in Edinburgh have also seen a significant increase rising from £253,000 in the third quarter to £340,000 in the final three months of 2014. The research also shows that 34% of buyers were local, 50% were national and 16% were international buyers ‘The fourth quarter saw a return to high sale numbers and a desire to get transactions finalised before the 01 April when the changes to stamp duty occur. The Edinburgh market has also seen a return of buyers from down south and abroad since the uncertainty of September’s referendum disappeared,’ said Jennifer Campbell of CKD Galbraith’s Edinburgh office. ‘Demand continues to outstrip supply across Edinburgh. The south side also remains extremely popular for its proximity to good schools. We expect sales figures to keep increasing throughout the first quarter of 2015 and not to show signs of slowing down until the general elections in May,’ she added. In the Aberdeen office there was a 33% rise in sales compared to the third quarter of 2014 and the supply of high quality properties in the region has risen by 23% compared to the last quarter. Also, the number of viewings has increased by 15% in the last quarter compared to quarter three. 'Property prices continued to rise in the region and buyers were serious about purchasing accurately priced homes. Although we envisage a plateauing in prices over the next year we do expect interest and offers to keep increasing as the city and surrounding areas grow in popularity,' said Jordan MacKay, head of residential for… Continue reading
