Tag Archives: real-estate
Real estate agents report an increased confidence in Spanish property market
There is a renewed confidence in the Spanish property market with both Spanish and English speaking agents recording an increase in overseas buyers. The latest Spanish property market confidence index from Kyero covering the first quarter of 2015 says that overall 71% of real estate agents feel more confident than they did a year ago and just 4% less confident. The survey also reveals that 30% of English speaking agents see stronger Sterling as being responsible for the most significant shift in the Spanish property market while Spanish agents believe that increased marketing is boosting sales. Some 56% of Spanish speaking agents and 57% of English speaking agents said that sales have increased, 34% and 31% said sales were static and 10% and 12% said sales had fallen. But there was a considerable difference of opinion regarding property prices. Some 49% of English speaking agents said prices have increased, but just 18% of Spanish speaking agents agreed. Indeed, 57% of Spanish agents said prices had remained the same compared to 34% of English speaking agents. A quarter, 25% of Spanish speaking agents said prices had fallen, and 17% of English speaking agents. Both Spanish speaking and English speaking agents reported a rise in buyers from overseas, at 59% and 64% respectively. Some 38% of Spanish speaking agents and 28% of English speaking agents said there was no change while 4% and 8% said there were fewer international buyers. Almeria, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria and Murcia are highlighted as inspiring the most confidence, according to the index which surveyed 160 English speaking and 216 Spanish speaking estate agents across Spain. Martin Dell, director of Kyero, said that while the strength of Sterling has played a key role for English speaking agents who have used it to boost interest, Spanish speaking agents have taken a different approach. ‘While English speaking agents in Spain have been able to enjoy more confidence in the market thanks to the pound’s movements, their Spanish peers have been working flat out on their marketing activity in order to achieve the same goal,’ he explained. However, both sets of respondents reported similar figures when it came to buyer confidence, with 20% of English speaking agents feeling that improved buyer confidence had been the most significant change over the past 12 months, compared with 21% of Spanish speaking agents. Continue reading
UK property market sees lowest annual price growth since 2013
Annual UK property price growth was 3.7% in April, taking the average price of a home to £208,717, the lowest level of annual growth since July 2013, the latest index shows. Month on month prices were up 0.5%, according to the latest monitor report from haart estate agents. In London prices were up 1.9% month on month and 6.8% year on year to an average of £513,154. The data also shows that in April new buyer registrations fell by 1.6% compared with March, the first monthly fall this year, as buyers adopted a pre-election ‘wait and see’ attitude. Seller activity also slowed in April with new property instructions up just 1.5% month on month. The report also shows that house sales were up 3.3% in April compared to March but down 17.1% from April 2014. But there has been a post-election pick up in seller activity with the weekend after polling day seeing a 34% surge in new property instructions compared with the previous weekend. The average price of a first time buyer home increased 3.5% annually and 0.8% on the month. The report says that the new Help to Buy ISA, when the product is designed and implemented, will provide further assistance to first time buyers seeking to buy a home. First time buyers now make up 42.9% of all mortgages written, which is up slightly on March but still falls below 46.1% in April 2014. The average mortgage granted to first-time buyers is up 1.2% on the month in April and 2.5% annually. ‘The pre-election property market held its breath in April but the election uncertainty did not have an overall stifling effect on the market average property price growth for the UK slowed but did not come off the boil,’ said Paul Smith, chief executive officer haart, which has a network of over 200 branches across the country. ‘However, there was a drop in activity from sellers and prospective buyers in the run up as a wait and see attitude took hold of the market. We are already seeing the reversal of this with a flurry of activity from prospective sellers in the weekend immediately following the election,’ he explained. ‘Continuity of government, no mansion tax and supportive policies like the Help to Buy ISA should keep the property market on its upward trajectory for the rest of 2015,’ he added. Continue reading
Industry professionals believe supply shortage is holding back UK property market
The vast majority of property professionals in the UK believe that the residential housing market is being held back, with a shortage of stock the main problem. Overall 90% of those surveyed said the market is being held back and 47% said the shortage of homes for sale is the reasons, according to a poll by conveyancing services firm myhomemove. It says that this suggests that improved confidence from sellers in the wake of the decisive election result could ensure increased stability and predictability that will deliver more confidence, pushing the number of house sales up. The data also shows that 24% of respondents blame a lack of mortgage availability, perhaps reflecting concerns about the impact of affordability rules on lending to older borrowers and 16% said that a lack of new build properties was holding back the market, reinforcing the need for developers to keep building. There was strong support for extending the Help to Buy scheme for new build purchases to 2020. A strong majority of 80% of respondents supported the policy, compared to a mere 8% who opposed it. On top of this some 65% said they support the Conservative Partys’ starter homes scheme put forward in its manifesto in the run up to the general election with just 3% opposed. But the property professionals were divided on one of the other main housing policies of reducing inheritance tax on the family home. Some 42% said they support the policy, while 38% opposed it. The research also found that 38% believe that a target of building 200,000 new homes is achievable. The new Conservative Government promised to build 200,000 starter homes for first time buyers in its manifesto. They think that the new Government will find it easier to implement its Right to Buy scheme for tenants of housing associations than it will to deliver its Right to Build programme. Both policies were outlined in the party’s manifesto. And 43% said that a Right to Buy scheme for housing association tenants was realistic, with 27% not sure. There was, however, greater uncertainty over whether the party could implement the Right to Build scheme with 26% thinking that this policy was achievable, whilst 41% were not sure. ‘Property professionals are clearly concerned about the obstacles that are holding back property transaction numbers. The good news is that the decisive election result could provide a confidence boost to consumers that will mean more properties are put on the market,’ said Doug Crawford, chief executive officer of myhomemove. ‘The main housing policies outlined by the new Conservative Government in its manifesto are, for the most part, popular within the industry. The question now is whether the Government can deliver on its promises and how quickly it can do so. Some policies, like extending Help to Buy, are far simpler to deliver than others, like the proposed Right-to-Build scheme. This will undoubtedly be a big topic of debate at our conference, just one week… Continue reading
