Tag Archives: real-estate
Next year looking optimistic for British buyers looking for dream home abroad
Interest from British buyers looking for property abroad in 2014 was driven by the strength of the pound against the euro and this continues to be the case, according to a new outlook report. It has been a year of contrasting halves with a surprisingly busy January followed by a difficult few months. The market only really picked up in May and June, says the report from Home Hunts which specialises in finding luxury homes and investment properties throughout France, Monaco, Geneva, London and New York. The firm is cautiously optimistic about 2015 and believes that the market should remain buoyant, particularly in the most sought after areas of France, however buyers are looking for a deal and sellers have to be realistic about prices. ‘We expect confidence to slowly continue growing in 2015 as people discover the flexibility of prices. The French General Elections in 2017 is likely to result in a change of government and savvy investors are taking advantage of the current favourable buying conditions to reap rewards later,’ said Tim Swannie, director of Home Hunts. ‘2014 was such a year of contrasting halves so we cannot predict a huge rise in property prices for 2015 but, we can confidently say the market should remain buoyant, particularly in the most sought after areas of France,’ he added. For Home Hunts, 2014 started strongly and January was the busiest month for about four years with 16 sales agreed and lots of interest from international buyers. ‘Bearing in mind that January is usually one of the quietest months of the year in terms of sales, we took this as a sign that things were set to explode,’ explained Swannie. But the market slowed. In France it started to pick-up again with busy months in May and June and this momentum continued into the summer months and with a lot of interest in July and August. The second half of the year saw even more interest, especially from UK buyers because of the strength of the pound verses the euro and this continues to be the case. ‘We have had buyers from all over the world including China, the Middle East, America, South Africa, Brazil, and Russia as well as all over Europe. We have also sold a huge range of properties such as apartments in Cannes and Paris, vineyards in Bordeaux, a chateau in Provence, waterfront villas on the Riviera and chalets in the French Alps,’ Swannie pointed out. He also explained that there has been no real pattern in nationalities of buyers, areas or property styles that our clients have been looking for, but the common factor in all of the purchases has been that every single buyer has been looking for a 'deal'. For example, clients are taking advantage of the current French housing market to find their dream home, in their dream destination, at their dream price. The properties selling at the moment are those which have either been put on the market very recently… Continue reading
Scottish rent rises outpace rest of UK
Scotland is seeing stronger annual rent growth than England and Wales, with average residential rents up 2.2% compared to a year ago, the latest index shows. In England and Wales monthly rents increased just 1.5% on average in the past year, according to data from lettings agent network Your Move. The average rent in Scotland now stands at £537 per month, back in line with the record set in August this year. Rents climbed a moderate 0.3% in the month to October, recovering from a dip during September. But taking a longer term view, the rate of growth has cooled. Annual rent rises have eased from a 3.2% increase over the year to October 2013. ‘Snags in supply and concerns over potential rent caps are setting the stride in Scotland, but in the longer term, the march of private sector rents is easing back on an annual basis. After years of consistency and incremental adjustments, rent rises quickened rapidly after the changes to lettings legislation made tenancy fees illegal. Instead of facing a one-off payment, tenants saw their monthly rents rise at a much accelerated pace. This market is only just starting to self correct and steady,’ said Christine Campbell, regional managing director of Your Move. ‘The introduction of any further lettings controls or restrictions by the Scottish government could further disrupt what was a healthy and extremely gradual rhythm of rent growth, to the detriment of thousands of renters. Complicating legislation would ostracise existing landlords and discourage new investment in the private rented sector, squeezing the supply of homes to let and simply adding to the bottleneck of the current housing shortage,’ she explained. ‘The private rented sector is the lifeblood of the economy, allowing workers flexibility and accessibility to the jobs market. Tenant demand needs to be balanced by greater availability of homes to let, to protect against unnaturally bloated rent increases,’ she added. A breakdown of the figures shows that on a monthly basis, rents are higher than September across all but one region of Scotland. The biggest month on month increase was recorded in the East, with rents climbing 1.1% between September and October. The data also shows that average rents in Edinburgh and the Lothians set a new peak of £615 per month, following 0.6% growth since September. The only region to experience a price fall on a monthly basis was Glasgow and Clyde where, the average monthly rent dropped £5 or 0.7% in the month to October, to £565. Rents have risen on an annual basis in three out of five regions of Scotland in October. Edinburgh and the Lothians have seen the strongest annual uplift in average monthly rents, rising 5.7% in the 12 months to October. This is followed by a 3.2% annual increase in Glasgow and Clyde, while rents in the East rose 2.2% over the last year. Rental prices dropped across two regions over the year to October. The average monthly rent in the South has fallen 0.5% since October 2013,… Continue reading
New build completions in Scotland at their highest level in over three years
The number of new homes being built in Scotland is at its highest level for over three years, new official figures have shown. Across all sectors, 4,583 homes were completed in April to June this year, the highest quarterly figure since 2010, and 29% higher than in the same quarter last year. The latest completion figures also bring the Scottish Government closer to its target of delivering 20,000 homes for social rent by March 2016, with 80% of homes completed. ‘I welcome the fact that the number of new homes built across all sectors is at its highest level for over three years, and I am particularly pleased that we are nearing our target of delivering 20,000 homes for social rent by March 2016,’ said Housing Minister Margaret Burgess. ‘The Scottish Government’s investment in affordable housing, together with measures to support the industry and help people into home ownership, have undoubtedly helped to stimulate housing supply,’ she pointed out. ‘Making sure everyone in Scotland has access to good quality housing is a vital part of the Scottish Government’s drive to secure economic growth, promote social justice, strengthen communities and tackle inequality,’ she added. She explained that the government has delivered over 4,500 new council houses since 2009 and has acted to preserve Scotland’s social housing stock by abolishing the Right to Buy from 01 August 2016, which will protect up to 15,500 social houses from sale and safeguard social housing for future generations. ‘In addition, the supply of affordable housing continues to be a high priority for us, and we are now three quarters of the way towards our target of 30,000 affordable homes by March 2016. This commitment is underlined by our £1.7 billion investment in affordable housing over the current parliamentary term, which supports an estimated 8,000 jobs each year,’ Burgess added. Continue reading
