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Councils in England urged to sell off high value properties to fund more affordable homes
Councils in England should sell vacant buildings and reinvest the money in more affordable homes, according to a government minister. Too many are sitting on multi million pound vacant houses yet the sale of just one high value council house could help fund more affordable house building, increase supply and reduce social housing waiting lists, said Communities Secretary Eric Pickles. He said such a move is part of the government’s long term economic plan to get Britain building and is the latest in a number of measures taken since 2010 to make the best possible use of social housing. Social housing waiting lists have halved since 2010 but Pickles believes that new rules could bring this down even further and from next April, councils will be required to publish the most recent valuation of their social housing stock, annually to ensure it is being put to best use. The information will be published by postcode, listing how much the properties are worth, how many are occupied and how many are standing empty. Pickles explained that this will give people the information they need to ask questions of how their council is managing stock and how selling more expensive properties could provide the funds for councils to build more homes and reduce waiting times. Councils could also sell their higher value empty properties, releasing more money for house building without affecting existing tenants’ rights. And with the numbers of empty homes down by 160,000 since the end of 2009 to a 10 year low, this could reduce the numbers of empty properties even further. For example, Southwark council were able to sell off one of their council homes for a staggering £3 million, helping to fund the building of 20 new properties across the borough. Pickles argued that other councils across the country could follow suit, potentially helping thousands of families by selling their higher value vacant homes. ‘Councils across the country are sitting on millions of pounds which could be put to far better use and get them building elsewhere in the area. This would allow more families to come off social housing waiting lists and get into homes,’ said Pickles. ‘Instead of holding that money as equity in expensive empty properties, the councils should sell up those vacant buildings and reinvest the money to get the country building,’ he added. He pointed out that through the government’s Affordable Homes Programme some £19.5 billion public and private funding has been invested in affordable house building, with a further £23.3 billion investment planned from 2015 to 2018. Over 200,000 new affordable homes have been delivered since 2010. House building is a key part of the government’s long term economic plan and since 2010 a range of measures have been taken to ensure the best possible use of social housing. Continue reading
Next year looking optimistic for British buyers looking for dream home abroad
Interest from British buyers looking for property abroad in 2014 was driven by the strength of the pound against the euro and this continues to be the case, according to a new outlook report. It has been a year of contrasting halves with a surprisingly busy January followed by a difficult few months. The market only really picked up in May and June, says the report from Home Hunts which specialises in finding luxury homes and investment properties throughout France, Monaco, Geneva, London and New York. The firm is cautiously optimistic about 2015 and believes that the market should remain buoyant, particularly in the most sought after areas of France, however buyers are looking for a deal and sellers have to be realistic about prices. ‘We expect confidence to slowly continue growing in 2015 as people discover the flexibility of prices. The French General Elections in 2017 is likely to result in a change of government and savvy investors are taking advantage of the current favourable buying conditions to reap rewards later,’ said Tim Swannie, director of Home Hunts. ‘2014 was such a year of contrasting halves so we cannot predict a huge rise in property prices for 2015 but, we can confidently say the market should remain buoyant, particularly in the most sought after areas of France,’ he added. For Home Hunts, 2014 started strongly and January was the busiest month for about four years with 16 sales agreed and lots of interest from international buyers. ‘Bearing in mind that January is usually one of the quietest months of the year in terms of sales, we took this as a sign that things were set to explode,’ explained Swannie. But the market slowed. In France it started to pick-up again with busy months in May and June and this momentum continued into the summer months and with a lot of interest in July and August. The second half of the year saw even more interest, especially from UK buyers because of the strength of the pound verses the euro and this continues to be the case. ‘We have had buyers from all over the world including China, the Middle East, America, South Africa, Brazil, and Russia as well as all over Europe. We have also sold a huge range of properties such as apartments in Cannes and Paris, vineyards in Bordeaux, a chateau in Provence, waterfront villas on the Riviera and chalets in the French Alps,’ Swannie pointed out. He also explained that there has been no real pattern in nationalities of buyers, areas or property styles that our clients have been looking for, but the common factor in all of the purchases has been that every single buyer has been looking for a 'deal'. For example, clients are taking advantage of the current French housing market to find their dream home, in their dream destination, at their dream price. The properties selling at the moment are those which have either been put on the market very recently… Continue reading
US commercial real estate activity expected to be on a firmer footing in 2015
Despite a slowing global economy, forward economic momentum in the United States should keep commercial real estate activity on firmer footing, according to the National Association of Realtors. The latest NAR quarterly commercial real estate forecast says that commercial activity should progress at a gradual pace heading into 2015. ‘Solid economic growth in the third quarter proved that the second quarter wasn’t an anomaly, as business spending increased, commercial construction rose and the labour market continued to make positive strides,’ said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist. ‘Job growth is the catalyst to improved demand for commercial real estate leasing and new construction projects,’ he explained but pointed out that softening in the global economy will likely widen the trade deficit in the US and could trigger some weakening in the overall economy. ‘GDP growth in the fourth quarter will be sluggish at around 2% behind stalling exports. Although GDP will likely climb to near 3% in 2015, the current pace of job growth could slow and ultimately impact commercial real estate activity if sluggishness in the global economy persists,’ he added. National office vacancy rates are forecast to decrease 0.5% over the coming year due to job growth exceeding inventory coming onto the market. Improved manufacturing activity should lead to a declining vacancy rate for industrial space at 0.4%, while retail space is forecast to decline 0.2% behind a boost in consumer spending from personal income gains and lower gas prices. ‘Low housing inventory and the sizeable demand for rentals will continue to spur multifamily construction as well as keep rents rising above inflation through next year,’ explained Yun. The report includes overall projections for four major commercial sectors and analyses quarterly data in the office, industrial, retail and multifamily markets. Office vacancy rates are forecast to slightly decline from 15.7% in the fourth quarter to 15.6% through to the fourth quarter of 2015. The markets with the lowest office vacancy rates in the fourth quarter are Washington, D.C., at 9.3%, New York City at 9.6%, Little Rock at 11.6%, San Francisco at 12.2% and Seattle at 12.8%. Office rents are projected to increase 2.4% in 2014 and 3.3% next year. Net absorption of office space in the US, which includes the leasing of new space coming on the market as well as space in existing properties, is likely to total 35.6 million square feet this year and 48.8 million in 2015. Industrial vacancy rates are expected to fall slightly from 8.8% in the fourth quarter to 8.4% in the fourth quarter of 2015. The areas with the lowest industrial vacancy rates currently are Orange County, California, with a vacancy rate of 3.6%, Los Angeles at 3.7%, Seattle at 5.8%, Miami at 6%, and Palm Beach, Florida, at 6.5%. Annual industrial rents should rise 2.4% this year and 2.9% in 2015. Net absorption of industrial space nationally is expected to total 110.7 million square feet… Continue reading
