Tag Archives: news
Better planning and more land needed to meet UK housing targets
House builders across the UK say policy makers should boost resources for local authority planning departments, increase skills and training for the construction sector and step up the delivery of public sector land to help increase the supply of new homes. The House Builder survey from international real estate firm Knight Frank, which contains the views of builders and developers across the country, also suggests that two thirds believe that the maximum number of new homes that can be delivered per year is 180,000 or less with only 9% thinking the government’s target of 200,000 is possible. The report points out that while activity in the house building sector has continued to pick up over the last year, the supply of new homes is still falling well short of demand. Boosting supply, where new housing is most keenly needed, is a key priority if the UK housing market is to avoid long term distortion. However, while nearly 60% of respondents expect housing completions to rise over the next year, with 18% saying the rise could be between 10% and 25%, around half expect no change in the delivery of affordable homes over the next 12 months. Just 9% of respondents said that under current market conditions it would be possible to deliver more than 200,000 homes a year, every year. More than 90% of respondents are expecting construction costs to rise again over the next 12 months and two thirds expect that development land prices will rise again this year. Indeed, the report found that rising labour and build costs are expected to pose the greatest risk to the sector in the coming year and some 56% of respondents said that the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) was weighing on development volumes The biggest policy change that would help boost development volumes would be recruiting more people to Local Authority planning departments, according to respondents. ‘The imbalance between the demand for new homes and the number of units being built is well-recognised, by the industry and political parties alike. In the 12 months to April 2014, some 141,000 homes were built in the UK, up by 4% on the previous year,’ said Grainne Gilmore, head of UK residential research at Knight Frank. ‘However, official household growth projections suggest an additional 230,000 potential households a year in the UK. Below these headline figures, there is a recognition that the right type of homes must be built in areas where there is the most housing need, typically adjacent to existing urban areas,’ she explained. ‘This has led to tensions about the greenbelt, with a lack of consensus on how to expand accommodation in some of the UK’s most thriving towns and cities. Nearly one half of the respondents to the housebuilder survey said that rules around developing on greenbelt land should be loosened,’ she added. The report points out that policy makers from all political parties are keen to encourage development on brownfield land and the… Continue reading
UK asking prices reach new record of £294,834
The price of property coming to the market in the UK this month has hit a new national record, up 0.9% to £294,834, the latest index figures shows. Demand is being fuelled by cheap borrowing yet supply is limited by some home owners’ reluctance to sell, according to the monthly index report from Rightmove. The average £2,550 asking price rise is the largest amount seen in the month of September since 2002, driven by price jump in family home sectors of 1.2% while owners of first time buyer properties have seen prices stall with a fall of 1.1%. Prices at the top end are rising faster with the research showing that the top 15 highest priced counties have all seen values rise this month by double the national average at 1.8%. These counties are all in the higher-priced southern regions which have all risen this month, driven by supply shortages with fewer home owners selling. The lower priced northern regions have seen prices fall, reducing would be sellers’ ability to raise adequate funds to move and exacerbating supply shortages while overall new seller numbers are down on the same period last year in both the north and the south with a drop of 4.9% and 7.1% respectively. ‘Prices are at an all-time high, yet borrowing is historically cheap and positive sentiment is aided by the ongoing postponement of rate rises from these six-year lows. Demand from those who can afford to buy remains high, and suitable supply remains tight, with the number of properties coming to market down 6% on the same period in 2014,’ said Miles Shipside, Rightmove director and housing market analyst. ‘The result is the biggest monthly price rise seen at this time of year for 13 years. High demand, lack of suitable supply, and increasingly stretched affordability are leading to some extremes in market forces in different sectors and parts of the country,’ he explained. ‘One of the effects is that those who own property that is in most demand, either by type or location, are seeing their values continue to rise. Their properties are rich in features and benefits that others want to buy, and as a consequence they are getting proportionately richer than either owners of less desirable homes or those who are not on the housing ladder at all,’ he pointed out. It is the typical family home market sectors that have risen most this month. Second stepper and top of the ladder properties, covering all property types with three or more bedrooms, went up by an average of 1.2%. In contrast first time buyer type properties with two bedrooms or fewer fell by 1.1%. ‘This year’s price surge in the first time buyer sector has stalled this month, and has now been overtaken by second stepper homes both in terms of monthly and annual increases. It looks like some of those buying typical first time buyer properties are now struggling to afford prices in this bracket… Continue reading
UK lettings agents report fewer rent rises and new homes on market also falls
The number of letting agents reporting rent increases for tenants has fallen month on month while the number of homes for rent is also down, according to the latest UK rental sector report. The analysis from the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) shows that for the first time this year, the number of ARLA agents seeing rent hikes for tenants has decreased from the previous month. The report reveals only three in 10, some 33%, of agents reported an increase in August, the lowest since April this year and a drop from 37% last month. Tenants in the South West however are not benefiting from this. Some 42% of agents in the region are continuing to see rent prices hiked, up four percentage points from last month. This is compared to only 12% of agents in the North West who have witnessed a rent increase. In Wales, tenants are worse off too. The number of landlords putting rents up for their tenants has increased threefold from July. This month 36% of letting agents in Wales saw increases, up 25% from July when just 11% agents reported rent hikes. The data in the report also shows that after a spike in the number of houses available to rent last month, supply has fallen back down to levels seen in June 2015. ARLA letting agents managed an average 178 properties per branch in August, compared to 189 in July. The report found that the number of house hunters in the rental sector increased marginally in August. Letting agents reported an average 36 prospective tenants registered per branch, compared to 35 in July. The number of properties available to rent in London continued to fall in August, pushing demand for housing even harder in the capital and putting further pressure on house hunters. With 110 properties registered per branch, compared to 117 in July, the task of finding a property in the capital’s rental sector is becoming increasingly difficult. ‘Our findings this month are good news for the majority of tenants, as less are experiencing rent hikes. However, a third of agents are still seeing landlords pushing rents up, which reflects the sorry state of affairs in the market,’ said David Cox, ARLA managing director. ‘With increasing pressure on the dwindling supply of housing, and the number of house hunters growing, rent increases are unfortunately very common as one in three tenants are experiencing,’ he pointed out. ‘Despite the fact they have fallen this month, it’s likely they will go back up again over the next few months,’ he added. Continue reading
