Tag Archives: real estate
Average house prices in England and Wales down 0.1%, latest index shows
Average house prices in England and Wales have fallen by 0.1% since October, according to the November house price index from the Land Registry. It means that the average house price is now £176,581 compared with the peak of £181,191 in November 2007 with an annual growth of 7.1%. The region in England and Wales which experienced the greatest increase in its average property value over the last 12 months is London with an increase of 17.4%. The data also shows that the West Midlands experienced the greatest monthly rise with a rise of 1.7% while Wales saw the lowest annual price growth at 1.7% while the East of England saw the most significant monthly price fall of 1.4%. The most up to date figures available show that during September 2014 the number of completed house sales in England and Wales increased by 5% to 73,552 compared with 70,020 in September 2013. The number of properties sold in England and Wales for over £1 million in September 2014 increased by 8% to 1,172 from 1,088 in September 2013. The region with the greatest fall in repossession sales in September 2014 was London and there were 674 repossessions in England and Wales during September 2014. Continue reading
Continued talk of a mansion tax hitting sales at top end of UK market
The possibility of a mansion tax being introduced in the UK has not disappeared despite many in the industry believing that recent changes to Stamp Duty would rule out the need for it. The shadow chancellor Ed Balls has confirmed that the annual tax on homes worth more than £2 million would be introduced in Labour’s first budget if it win the May 2015 general election. The plan would mean that the Treasury would start collecting the money in the 2015/2016 financial year. People with homes worth between £2 million and £3 million would pay about £3,000 a year. Those in more expensive homes would pay more. He claimed that Treasury officials were working on the proposals, in line with the civil service’s normal practice of making plans to implement the policies of parties that could win the general election. The Labour party plans to use the money to boost the National Health Service. ‘I would like to see that revenue coming in in the first year of a Labour government, before the end of the financial year,’ Balls added. This is despite a general feeling that the changes introduced in early December to make the Stamp Duty tax more even would mean there would be no need for the so called mansion tax. Alex Newall, managing director at Hanover Private Office, had been among those who believed that reform to stamp duty would replace any need for a mansion tax which has been widely criticised as grossly unfair. He pointed out that the tax would be a blow to families who, by no fault of their own, have ended up owning houses which have risen in value and gone above £2 million. ‘In London, this may only be a two bedroom flat, where house prices have risen over 20% in the last year,’ he said. He also explained that sales volumes in the prime market in London have already fallen due to fears over a mansion tax being introduced. ‘Notting Hill has seen a decline of 48% in transaction volumes over the last 12 months following the fears of a mansion tax as people worry about the annual costs,’ he said. He added that while increasing stamp duty will make it more expensive to buy a house at the top of the market, he believes that the wide majority of existing owners will favour this approach. ‘Compare taxes in London to those in New York City, and London will still remain a global draw. Security, education, business, a completely multi-cultural society, and despite operating a tighter tax system, it is in fact one which is now more in line with other global cities, such as Hong Kong where stamp duty is as high as 8.5% and in Singapore where it reaches 15% for foreign buyers or 10% for Singapore buyers acquiring a second home,’ he said. Winkworth estate agents believes that the revival of talk of a mansion tax will hit sales in… Continue reading
US home sales fall to lowest annual pace for six months, latest data shows
Home sales in the United States have fallen to their lowest annual pace for six months, down 6.1% in November, according to the latest data from the National Association of Realtors. Total sales, excluding new build, reached a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.93 million in November from a downwardly revised 5.25 million in October but they are still up 2.1% compared to a year ago. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says sales activity was choppy throughout the country in November and housing inventory began its seasonal decline. ‘Fewer people bought homes last month despite interest rates being at their lowest levels of the year,’ he pointed out. ‘The stock market swings in October may have impacted some consumers’ psyches and therefore led to fewer November closings. Furthermore, rising home values are causing more investors to retreat from the market,’ he added. But prices are still strong. The median existing home price for all housing types in November was $205,300, 5% above November 2013 and the 33rd consecutive month of year on year price gains. The NAR data also shows that total housing inventory at the end of November fell 6.7% to 2.09 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 5.1 month supply at the current sales pace, unchanged from last month. Despite the tightening in supply, unsold inventory remains 2% higher than a year ago, when there were 2.05 million existing homes available for sale. ‘Lagging home building activity continues to hamstring overall housing supply and is still too low in relation to this year’s promising job growth. Much faster price and rent appreciation, easily exceeding wage growth, will occur next year unless new construction picks up measurably,’ said Yun. All cash sales were 25% of transactions in November, down from 27% in October and below the 32% recorded in November of last year. Individual investors, who account for many cash sales, purchased 15% of homes in November, unchanged from last month and below November 2013 when it was 19% while 61% of investors paid cash in November. The percent share of first time buyers in November climbed to 31% from 29% in October, the highest share since October 2012 when it was also 31%. First time buyers have represented an average of 29% this year. Distressed sales, that is foreclosures and short sales, were unchanged in November from 9% in October and remained in the single digits for the fourth month this year, well below the 14% of a year ago. Overall 6% of November sales were foreclosures and 3% were short sales. The data shows that foreclosures sold for an average discount of 17% below market value in November compared with 15% in October, while short sales were discounted 13% compared to 10% in October. Properties typically stayed on the market in November for 65 days, slightly longer than the 63 days recorded in October and above the 56 days of… Continue reading
