Tag Archives: london
Year ahead set to see more British buyers in popular European markets
Rising confidence and a resurging pound are set to boost overseas property market as British buyers once again look for homes overseas, it is claimed. According to Clare Nessling, director at overseas mortgage specialist Conti, excellent buying conditions have lured Britons back into the overseas property market this year, with bargain property prices and historically low mortgage rates making it more affordable than ever. She pointed out that the biggest boost to buyers’ budgets, however, has been the steadily increasing value of the pound against the euro, which is effectively shedding tens of thousands of pounds off property prices in the euro zone. And buyers, full of fresh optimism, are returning in their droves. ‘It’s perhaps no surprise, therefore, that our enquiries have increased by 24% this year, compared with 2013. The first half of the year was particularly busy, with enquiries up by 58%, levelling out again in the third quarter, largely due to the uncertainty surrounding the Scottish referendum result. Overall, however, interest is much stronger than last year and there’s definitely more optimism amongst potential buyers,’ she explained. ‘When you compare the cost of a place in the sun with overheated parts of the UK market, there are plenty of British buyers who are more willing to explore overseas opportunities in their search for better investment potential. Confidence is back,’ she added. She also pointed out that with Goldman Sachs predicting that sterling will continue to climb against the euro over the next three years, British buyers will simply have more buying power, making a bolt hole in the sun even more tempting.’ The relaxation of pension rules, which come into effect in April 2015, could also lead to more people releasing pent up funds and investing them in a foreign property purchase,’ she said. The firm believes that Spain is well and truly back on the map. It accounted for 49% of enquiries received at Conti this year, and the volume of Spanish mortgage enquiries has increased by 54% over the last 12 months. After a turbulent few years in the eye of the euro zone storm, the country appears to be making a turnaround at last. Conti’s report says that the economy is showing signs of recovery, tourist numbers are up, and after years of plummeting house prices, experts are predicting increases in 2015, with prices in some areas rising already. ‘I expect Spain to maintain this momentum next year as prices recover but remain very affordable,’ said Nessling. France remains a firm favourite too, accounting for 32% of enquiries this year, and continues to offer a safe haven for British buyers. ‘A slower property market has been pushing prices down, and under current market conditions, people are keener to sell and therefore more likely to be receptive to offers lower than the asking price,’ explained Nessling. ‘With mortgage rates at their lowest in more than 60 years, it’s a buyer’s market. But it could be wise… Continue reading
UK landlords urged to protect their property from fraud
The UK Land Registry is reminding landlords to take steps to protect their property from being fraudulently sold or mortgaged in 2015. It points out that you are more at risk if you rent out your property, you live overseas, the property’s empty, the property isn’t mortgaged and the property isn’t registered with the Land Registry. Properties will be registered if they were bought or mortgaged since 1998 and anyone who is unsure can check the register. A spokesman said that if any information on the register is incorrect, such as a landlord changing contact address, these should be notified and changed. ‘You can track changes to the register or put a restriction on your title if you think you’re at risk. You can also sign up to get property alerts if someone applies to change the register of your property, for example, if they try to use your property for a mortgage,’ said a spokesman. ‘This won’t automatically block any changes to the register but will alert you when something changes so that you can take action. You can get alerts for up to 10 properties and there’s no fee,’ he explained. ‘You can stop Land Registry registering a sale or mortgage on your property unless a conveyancer or solicitor certifies the application was made by you,’ he added. If you don’t live at the property you can fill in a request for a restriction for owners not living at the property if you own the property privately. Business owners must fill in a request for a restriction for business owners of property. Again there is no fee. Continue reading
Greenwich in London sees largest house price growth in last 12 months
The London Borough of Greenwich recorded the biggest rise in house prices among major UK towns and cities over the past year, according to new research. The study, based on house price data from leading lender the Halifax, shows that the average house price in this south east corner of the capital was 24.6% higher than in the previous year, increasing from £263,183 to £328,044 in 2014. The Halifax report says that this is a significantly faster increase than in London as a whole, which saw price growth of 13% over the same time. Ealing, in West London, experienced the second biggest rise in average house prices with an increase of 24.5%, the research also shows. Crawley in Sussex with growth of 22.4% saw the third largest rise and is the only town outside London making the top 10. And overall some nine of the 10 areas with the strongest price growth in the past year are in London. These include Tower Hamlets with growth of 22%, Kingston upon Thames at 21.4% and Sutton in south London at 20.7%. Sheffield is the top performing area outside the south with prices rising by an average of 13.7% over the past year. Over the past five years, the South Yorkshire city has seen a significant increase in employment, particularly in managerial, professional and technical skilled occupations. This may have been a key factor in helping to boost housing demand, and hence prices, in the city. The towns experiencing a decline in the average value of homes over the past year are all outside southern England. Bury in Lancashire saw a fall of 4.8%, Keighley in West Yorkshire was down 4.4% and Nuneaton in Warwickshire down 3.2%. Four of the 10 weakest performing towns are in the North West. Besides Bury, they are St. Helens with a fall of 2.6%, Preston down 2% and Rochdale down 0.9%. ‘A number of towns and cities have recorded significant rises in house prices over the past 12 months. Nine of the 10 best performing areas are in the capital, and therefore within easy reach of central London,’ said Craig McKinlay, mortgage director at the Halifax. ‘Continuing improvements in the economy, rising employment and low mortgage rates will no doubt have supported housing demand and, combined with shortage of homes coming on to the market, will have contributed to rising property values,’ he explained. ‘At the other end of the spectrum, several of the towns experiencing price falls in the past year are still suffering from relatively weak employment conditions, which may have had an adverse impact on their local housing markets,’ he added. Continue reading
