Tag Archives: real estate
Southern cities leading house price growth in the UK, latest index data suggests
UK house prices have increased by an average of £11,500 over the12 months to May 2015 with seven cities in the South of England significantly outperforming this level, the latest index shows. The average house in a city now costs £189,400 with London more than double this figure at £425,700, according to the data from residential property analyst Hometrack. The data also shows that on a month on month basis prices increased by 0.8% in May which is 3.8% above the peak of the market in 2007. Oxford has recorded the highest rise in the last 12 months with growth of £41,700, nearly quadruple the UK average of £11,500, followed by London at £38,900, Cambridge at £23,900, Bristol at £22,400, Southampton at £15,300, Bournemouth at £15,300 and Portsmouth at £15,000. Hometrack said that these house prices gains are a result of robust demand underpinned by the strength of these cities’ local economies and all 20 cities covered by the index recorded annual price rises. Those that saw the smallest rises were all in the north. In Liverpool prices increased by £4,200, Newcastle by £4,700 and Sheffield by £5,300 and these cities are still 14%, 8.5% and 3.8% respectively below their 2007. They are part of a group of nine cities in the north of England, Scotland and North Ireland that are recovering at a much slower pace due to weaker demand from house buyers. All cities except Aberdeen with a fall of 0.4%, recorded month on month price rises and Hometrack said that this could be partly due to a post-election bounce. Bristol led the way with a 1.3% increase followed by Cambridge, Leicester, Liverpool and Belfast all at 1.2%. ‘House prices have picked up momentum post-election. An increasing proportion of households are feeling the benefits of the improving economy, which means that house price growth is set to continue in the coming months. The greatest risk is an earlier than expected increase in interest rates which would knock market sentiment,’ said Richard Donnell, director of research at Hometrack. ‘The strong demand side recovery seen in southern England has yet to spread to other cities revealing the diverse nature of the housing market. All cities are making gains at different rates of growth, but the cities with the biggest increases all have something in common and that is strong local economies,’ he explained. He predicted that affordability pressures will bite at some point in the high value, high growth markets. ‘The double digit price growth registered in cities such as London, Oxford and Cambridge is being sustained by a lack of supply and below average transaction volumes with a third of sales funded by cash or buy to let mortgages,’ he pointed out. ‘London has the highest price to earnings ratio, but it covers a wide range of sub-markets. Over the last three years, the impetus for house price growth has shifted… Continue reading
Number of rental properties available for new tenants in UK falls
The number of rental properties available for tenants in the UK decreased in May at a time when demand is increasing and is predicted to keep rising over the next five years. Supply of rental property fell by 7% compared with April with just 179 properties per branch of lettings agents who are members of the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA), the organisation’s latest monthly report shows. The report says it is a worry that London, known for its booming rental culture, has the least amount of rental properties per branch, with only 134 managed in May, compared to 273 properties per branch in Scotland. Whilst overall available rental properties decreased, demand remained the same. ARLA members reported 36 potential tenants registered per branch in May, remaining the same as the previous two months. The report also shows that during May 34% of ARLA agents reported rent increases for tenants. This figure has been slowly creeping up from the start of the year, when just 27% of agents reported hikes for tenants. Those living in the South West were the most affected by monthly rent increases with 49% of agents in the region reporting an increase. The situation is set to get worse with 76% of ARLA member agents nationally predicting that rents will continue to rise over the next five years. ‘It is worrying to see that there such a sharp decrease in supply, when we know there is already a struggle to meet housing needs,’ said David Cox, ARLA managing director. He pointed out that while the months following any major event such as the General Election will always cause uncertainty and shake things up for the property market, the dwindling supply and already high demand is an issue that’s going to continue to plague the property market. ‘We are in desperate need of more housing stock in this country and supply and demand isn’t something that will level out overnight. It’s vital that the new government follows their promise of building more houses, so we can free up rental properties and head on the right path to turning the property market around once and for all,’ he added. Continue reading
Wales has lowest median house price while Kensington in London has the highest
Blaenau Gwent had the lowest median house price in England and Wales in 2014 at £75,000, a sharp contrast to the highest in the London borough of Kensington and Chelsea at £1.19 million, official figures show. The data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) also reveals a sharp north/south divide when it comes to property prices in the country as house prices in London surged by 32% last year, leaving the rest of the country trailing. Every area of the country where property prices increased by over 20% were in the capital, while areas in the north saw homes fall by almost a quarter in value. The figures also look at home prices according to council areas. These show that the local authority that had the largest increase in median house price between 2013 and 2014 is South Bucks increasing by 23% from £390,000 to £480,000. The local authority that had the largest decrease in median house price between 2013 and 2014 is Isles of Scilly decreasing by 15% from £275,000 to £235,000. Figures were also released according to Parliamentary constituencies. Walthamstow in north east London saw the highest house price growth last year, up by 32%, taking the average price of a home from £250,000 in 2013 to £330,000 last year. While in Hammersmith prices increased by 25% from £456,000 to £570,000 on average. Dulwich, Westminster, Tottenham, Lewisham, Chelsea and Islington, representing Parliamentary constituencies across the capital make up the top 10 constituencies for house price growth. Nottingham East is the only area outside of the capital and its surrounding areas which made it into the top 25 constituencies for property price increases with 19% growth taking the typical price from £92,500 to £109,950. Bradford West suffered the worst property slump in the country with prices dropping 23% and in Blaydon in the north east the price of homes fell 5% with Rotherham in South Yorkshire also seeing a 5% drop. Data looking over the last decade shows that the biggest house price rises have been in Kensington in London with a 550% rise to £1.15 million, followed by the City of London and Westminster with a 535% rise to £980,000. Other popular commuting areas in London also saw a big rise such as Tooting with a jump of 515% taking the typical home price to £497,750 while Westminster North was up 50% to £700,000 and Vauxhall up 507% to £485,000. Continue reading
