Tag Archives: real-estate
New report warns only well-off will be able to afford to buy a home in the UK
Only the wealthiest of the next generation will be able to buy a home if current trends continue in the UK, according to a new report from the National Housing Federation. It shows that first time buyers now have to pay, in real terms, 10 times the deposit needed in the early 1980s as well as earn more, borrow more, and rely more on family wealth than even a generation ago. The average first time buyer today needs a £30,000 deposit, and has an average income of £36,500compared to the average salary for first time buyers in the 1980s of £20,000. A first time buyer has to borrow 3.4 times their annual income on average, compared to first time buyers in 1979 who needed to borrow just 1.7 times their income and two thirds of first time buyers receive financial help from parents, a figure that has doubled in five years. As a result home ownership is being pushed out of reach of average earners including nurses, firefighters and plumbers. And with the number of home owners falling and first time buyers not getting considerably older, it indicates that the pool of those buying homes is shrinking to those with the greatest wealth. The struggle younger generations face is being felt across the country. In separate polling by YouGov on behalf of the National Housing Federation almost 80% of people in England think it's harder to own a home now than it was for their parents' generation. Eight out of 10 people polled also didn't believe any of the main political parties would effectively deal with housing. Younger people whose parents can't help financially, can find themselves stuck living in their childhood bedrooms or paying high private rents that make it almost impossible to save. The National Housing Federation also highlights that fewer first time buyers in the future could slow down the wider housing market and make it harder for 'second steppers' to move up the ladder. ‘With the high salary, and huge deposit younger generations now need to buy even a modest home, home ownership is quickly becoming an exclusive members club. Sadly, it will depend on the wealth of the family you were born into as much as your own hard work,’ said David Orr, chief executive of the National Housing Federation. ‘We've found that eight out of 10 people don't believe any of the main political parties will effectively deal with housing, but they still have the chance to put that right. With a bold long term government plan for house building our housing crisis is solvable. We desperately need politicians from all sides to commit to ending the housing crisis within a generation,’ he explained. Continue reading
UK govt announces new building standards proposals
New measures will save UK house builders and councils £114 million per year by cutting red tape and ensuring homes are built to demanding standards. The current system of rules on how new homes can be built encourages wide differences across the country with councils able to select from a range of standards in a ‘pick and mix’ approach that gives an unlimited number of permutations in local rules. This creates cost, uncertainty, bureaucracy and duplication for house builders. So Communities Minister Stephen Williams has announced that the government is consulting on the details of how it will consolidate this mass of standards into a core range of five standards. ‘We need to build more homes and better quality homes and this government is delivering on both. It’s now time to go further by freeing up house builders from unnecessary red tape and let them get on with the real job building the right homes, in the right places, to help families and first time buyers onto the property ladder,’ said Williams. ‘The current system of housing standards creates a labyrinth of bureaucratic rules for house builders to try and navigate, often of little benefit and significant cost. We are now slashing this mass of unnecessary rules down to just five core standards saving house builders and councils £114 million a year whilst making new homes safer, more accessible to older and disabled people and more sustainable,’ he explained. ‘Current housing standards required of new development can be unworkable, including demands for solar and wind energy sources that can’t physically fit onto the roofs of apartment buildings, or unnecessary including compliance regimes which add thousands to the cost of building a new home without any benefit,’ he added. A national regulation on security standards in all new homes will be introduced with the aim of protecting families from burglary and for the first time ever, a national, cross tenure space standard that local authorities and communities can choose to use to influence the size of new homes in their local area. There will be new optional building regulations for accessible and adaptable mainstream housing to meet the needs of older and disabled people and the introduction for the first time of an optional building regulation setting standards for wheelchair housing. The consultation seeks views on the detailed technical requirements supporting this new approach to housing quality. The government proposal is for the security standards to become a new mandatory regulation, and for councils to be able to decide whether to apply the other remaining standards to developments built in their areas. In addition a new zero carbon homes standard will come into force through the building regulations from 2016, building on the 30% energy efficiency improvements already introduced into building regulations in 2010 and 2013. These will save householders up to £200 on energy bills. Continue reading
Property prices in Ireland up 13.4% year on year
National residential property prices in Ireland increased by 13.4% in the year to July, according to the latest figures from the Office of National Statistics. This compares with an increase of 12.5% in June and an increase of 2.3% recorded in the 12 months to July 2013. On a month on month basis property prices increased by 2% in July compared with June. This compares with an increase of 2.9% recorded in June and an increase of 1.2% recorded in July of last year. In Dublin residential property prices grew by 2.7% in July and were 23.2% higher than a year ago. Dublin house prices rose by 2.5% in the month and were 23.1% higher compared to a year earlier while apartment prices were 26.3% higher when compared with the same month of 2013. However, 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 1.3% in July compared with a decrease of 0.1% in July of last year. Prices were 4.9% higher than in July 2013. Despite the gains house prices in Dublin are still 41.2% lower than at their highest level in early 2007. Apartments in Dublin are 48.4% lower than they were in February 2007. Property prices in Dublin are 43% lower than at their highest level in February 2007 while in the rest of Ireland prices are 45.1% lower than their highest level in September 2007. Overall, the national index is 42.3% lower than its highest level in 2007. Continue reading
