Tag Archives: london
Research reveals the diversity of overseas buyers in London’s prime market
Over 30 different nationalities are buying prime property in central London with African making up the biggest group at 43.7%, new research shows. The next biggest group of overseas buyers are from the Middle East, making up 17.1% and then Asian and UK buyers both at 10%, according to the research from independent property buying agency Black Brick. Overall, Black Brick has represented 35 different nationalities, with Africans forming the highest percentage of buyers at 43.7% of all deals, followed by Middle Eastern buyers at 17.1% and then tied in third place Asian and UK buyers at 10% respectively. According to Camilla Dell, founder and managing partner of Black Brick, although the perception is that the majority of prime central London’s overseas buyers are Russian or Middle Eastern, Africans have always had a big affinity with the UK and London. ‘Over the last eight years, we have successfully acquired £236 million of residential property for African buyers from Nigeria, Kenya, Zambia, South Africa and Uganda,’ she said. ‘In particular, we’ve represented numerous buyers from Nigeria. Like a lot of our owner/occupier international clients, many wealthy Nigerians were educated in the UK and send their children to school here,’ she added. Typically, Nigerians like gated, secure developments, as this is what they are used to back home, where most houses and apartments are located within secure compounds. Even though London is of course, much safer than Nigeria, they still prefer to be in secure developments, preferably with a 24 hour concierge or porter, the research report points out.. In terms of location, for lower budgets, many Nigerians love new build developments such as Imperial Wharf, which is even known as ‘mini Lagos in some circles. However, high net worth Nigerian clients prefer to explore new areas and have privacy and opt for properties in areas such as Belgravia and the parts of Chelsea. The research shows that 39% of the firm’s Nigerian clients have bought in either SW3, SW10 or SW1, closely followed by 35% buying in North West London postcodes such as NW8, NW6 and N2. In addition, 58% of our Nigerian clients have been purchasing homes in London with the remaining 42% buying for investment. The data also highlights the fact the services of buying agents are not just for wealthy overseas buyers, with UK purchasers forming the third highest percentage of Black Brick’s buying clients. ‘The property market in London is time consuming, frustrating and difficult to navigate even for local buyers, hence the growing number of UK buyers within our client base. Our British clients tend to be busy executives from the financial services sector, who may have previously been looking for some time on their own, but have become increasingly disillusioned with not being able to find the right property, getting gazumped or having access to off market opportunities,’ explained Dell. She also revealed that 88% of the firm’s UK client base have been owner… Continue reading
UK construction industry gets boost from improved home lending
The UK government’s Help to Buy scheme and a renewed willingness by banks to lend to home owners has boosted the construction industry, it is claimed. The latest official figures from the Office of National Statistics shows that output in the construction industry in the third quarter of 2014 increased by 0.8% compared to the previous quarter. The ONS data also shows growth of 2.9% between the third quarters of 2013 and 2014, the sixth consecutive period of annual quarter on quarter growth. Most recently, in September 2014, output in the construction industry was estimated to have increased by 1.8% compared with August 2014, following a fall of 3% in August and an increase of 2% in July. On the year, the picture is of continued growth, with output in the construction industry increasing by 3.5% in September 2014 compared with September 2013. Housing, as a sub-element of all construction output, was worth £6.77 billion in the third, up 5% on the second quarter and 22% higher than in the third quarter of 2013. Within housing, output by the private sector has grown 19% since the third quarter of last year, while construction by public organisations grew by 35% on an annual basis According to David Newnes, director of Your Move and Reeds Rains estate agents, The Help to Buy scheme and a renewed willingness on the part of banks to lend to borrowers with smaller deposits played a significant part in boosting demand all across the country, giving first time buyers a better shot at the goal of home ownership. ‘This injected new energy into the construction sector, but although house building is making headway across the pitch, we’re still a long way from seeing the form that was in evidence before the crash,’ he said. He pointed out that households received a welcome boost in the cost of living game with the news that wage growth is beating inflation, but dogged demand for housing must be matched with a new charge of supply if the cost of housing is to be kept within the grasp of new buyers. ‘House price inflation may have been reined back from the intensity witnessed earlier this year, but in the long term building new homes remains key to ensuring that competition over available property and price rises stay at healthy levels, and don’t eat away at consumer confidence,’ he explained. ‘Higher LTV lending dipped last month, as new loan to income caps came into force. We need to ensure that the bottom of the market stays firm, anchored on a solid bedrock of plentiful supply of starter homes,’ he added. Andrew Bridges, managing director of specialist London estate agents Stirling Ackroyd, believes that gradual progress won’t be enough for the construction industry. ‘This growth is still slower than the rest of the economy and not yet fast enough to capture the true scale of opportunity,’ he said. ‘Homes are most sharply sought after, and that’s reflected in the best figures for the housing portion of output… Continue reading
Property sales in England and Wales surged in October, according to latest index
The property market in England and Wales has shrugged off the general slowdown as sales surged 9% in October, according to the latest LSL/Acadata house price index. Prices were up 0.7% in October and 10.5% year on year but this annual figure drops to 5% if data from London and the South East is excluded. It takes the average house price to £277,390 and average house prices across England and Wales have reached a new record for the sixteenth successive month. The data also shows an uplift in activity outside of London has helped drive the highest number of completed home sales in seven years but prices have fallen at the top end of the London market. ‘This increased level of house sale completions marks a considerable, though laborious, reflection of the increased buyer activity earlier in the year since the recession zapped the energy from the market,’ said David Newnes, director of Reeds Rains and Your Move estate agents. ‘October saw the highest level of house sales completed in a month since November 2007. In part this was driven by a better throughput of sales that had sat in the pipeline for some time, finally coming through to completion,’ he explained. ‘On a monthly basis, house price inflation has edged up from just a 0.3% increase in September, as we see some modest growth. Recent hiccups in the market have not shaken the overall underlying stability and the average UK home owner has seen the value of their property rise £26,500 or 10.5%) in the past year,’ he explained. He also pointed out that the biggest uplift in completions in the third quarter of 2014 compared to the same period of 2013 has been witnessed outside of London. Indeed, completed house sales in both the West Midlands and East Midlands have risen 22%, while in London house sale completions are up by just 3% over the same period. In regions such as the North and East Anglia, which saw average house prices slump during September, further growth in activity is critical to warm up the local recovery. First time buyers in particular need shielding from any future cooling interventions from the government or Bank of England. However, the regions have seen a more complex path of growth. Only three regions saw house prices set peak highs. These were the South West, South East, and London as the recovery continues to advance with a Southern leaning slant. ‘If we omit London and the South East from our calculations, a milder 5% annual change in property prices emerges. Yet at the very top end of the housing market in prime central areas of London, growth is subsiding. Average house prices across London overall rose by only 0.4% in September, the smallest monthly increase the capital has seen for 15 months as the pace of price inflation cools down from the summer heat,’ said Newnes. ‘Property prices have dropped in six out of the seven most expensive boroughs over… Continue reading
