Tag Archives: real estate
Property prices in Northern Ireland set to outpace rest of UK in 2015
The Northern Ireland housing market ended 2014 as it began it, with prices and sales rising and surveyors expecting the trend to continue, according to the latest RICS and Ulster Bank survey. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors expects Northern Ireland house prices to rise by 4% in 2015, which is higher than the expectation of 3% for the UK average. The latest survey suggests that demand in the local housing market remains relatively robust, with new buyer enquiries continuing to rise at a faster rate than new vendor instructions – indicating that there is a continuing lack of supply. In terms of prices, December was the 19th consecutive month that the headline price balance at +65 was in positive territory, indicating an increase in prices. The balance of surveyors expect prices to rise in the three months ahead. With regard to newly agreed sales, a net balance of +17 said that these increased in December, whilst a net balance for sales expectations in the three months ahead was +21. ‘The local housing market is expected to benefit from the reform of stamp duty, with the large majority of homebuyers here paying less of the tax. This will help encourage activity,’ said Samuel Dickey of RICS Northern Ireland. ‘In terms of prices, the gap between demand and supply is creating upward pressure. However, the slowing economic recovery and public spending environment will present challenges for the market. Overall, RICS expects prices to rise on average 4% this year, a moderation in growth relative to 2014,’ he added. According to Derek Wilson, head of lending products at Ulster Bank, mortgage demand remain strong in the final quarter of 2014. ‘We expect that to continue into this year, particularly from the home mover and first time buyer segments. We have a range of mortgage options available at historically low levels and we remain committed to lending to all sectors of the market,’ he added. Continue reading
UK house prices up 10% in year to November 2014, ONS data shows
UK house prices increased by 10% in the year to November 2014, down from 10.4% in the previous month, the latest data from the Office of National Statistics shows. House price annual inflation was 10.4% in England, 3.1% in Wales, 4.4% in Scotland and 11.7% in Northern Ireland, the data also shows. Overall house prices continue to increase strongly across the majority of the UK, with prices in London again showing the highest growth. Indeed, house price increases in England were driven by an annual increase in London of 15.3% and to a lesser extent increases in the East at 11.9% and the South East at 10.8%. Excluding London and the South East, UK house prices increased by 7.1% in the 12 months to November 2014. On a seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices increased by 0.2% between October and November 2014. The index also reveals that in November 2014, prices paid by first time buyers were 11% higher on average than in November 2013. For owner occupiers (existing owners), prices increased by 9.5% for the same period. Peter Rollings, chief executive officer of Marsh & Parsons, said that with property price growth slowing it mustnot be forgotten that the market has seen a double-digit rise in home values over the past 12 months and this an impressive leap. 'After the exertions of the summer months, this is simply a period of natural re-calibration, restoring a more sustainable pace of price inflation. Growth is still ticking along in the right direction, with a steadier 0.2% climb in the month to November,' he explained. 'The first half of the year is typically the most energetic for the property market, and we’re already seeing reinvigorated demand in the new year, as more people turn their sights to getting their foot on the property ladder or moving home. Conditions are ripe for buying, with a rise in supply of property for sale, a relaxation in bank lending criteria and historically low mortgage rates ensuring less fraught competition for homes,' he added. Graham Davidson, managing director of Sequre Property Investment, said he was not surprised by the slowing rate of house prices over the course of November. ‘Whilst seasonality can account for some of this slight decline in growth, it was likely that prices in many places in the UK would have to start to slacken at some point. London and the South East in particular were bound to experience a slump, as the rate of increase simply could not continue,’ he pointed out. ‘As we are now less than six months away from a general election, there is some economic and political uncertainty within the UK which, coupled with the introduction of Capital Gains Tax for overseas buyers, may be putting off purchases by non-UK buyers and this in turn could have helped cool price rises,’ he explained. ‘The prospect of the Bank of England’s new powers announced in October to restrict… Continue reading
Property prices in Ireland up over 16% year on year
Residential property prices in Ireland increased by 16.2% year on year in the 12 months to the end of November 2014, the latest official figures show. This compares with an increase of 16.3% in October and an increase of 5.6% recorded in the 12 months to November 2013, according to the data from the Central Statistics Office. But growth could be slowing slightly as prices rose by 0.5% in the month of November compared with an increase of 2.9% recorded in October and an increase of 0.6% recorded in November of last year. In Dublin residential property prices fell by 0.1% in November and were 22.4% higher than a year ago. Dublin house prices fell by 0.1% in the month and were 22.2% higher compared to a year earlier. Dublin apartment prices were 26.8% higher when compared with the same month of 2013. However, a CSO spokesman said it should be noted that the sub-indices for apartments are based on low volumes of observed transactions and consequently suffer from greater volatility than other series. The price of residential properties in the rest of Ireland rose by 1.2% in November compared with no change in November of last year. Prices were 9.6% higher than in November 2013. Despite the recovery house prices in Dublin are still 35.8% lower than at their highest level in early 2007. Apartments in Dublin are 44.3% lower than they were in February 2007 while house price in the city are 37.8% lower than at their highest level in February 2007. The price of residential properties in the rest of Ireland is 41.8% lower than their highest level in September 2007. Overall, the national index is 37.9% lower than its highest level in 2007. Continue reading
