Tag Archives: real-estate
World Heritage status boosts property values
Living near a world heritage site in the UK might mean putting up with a lot of tourists but it certainly helps property prices with new research showing homes in these locations are worth 27% more. Whereas the average UK home is valued at £284,127, properties in or near locations with World Heritage Status awarded by UNESCO status can carry a heftier price tag of £77,993, according to research from property portal Zoopla. The Orkney Islands are the UK’s most affordable World Heritage Site to buy a property near while homes near the Palace of Westminster and Westminster Abbey are the most expensive. Homes close to the Neolithic monuments in Orkney currently cost an average of £130,169, coming in at 178% less than the average house price near to a World Heritage Site in the UK at £362,120. UNESCO sites in Bradford and Liverpool are the least expensive urban sites. Saltaire, an industrial village from the second half of the 19th century within the city of Bradford is the most affordable urban site with a typical property here costing £155,868. Liverpool’s Maritime Mercantile City, includes the Albert Docks and the largest collection of Grade I-listed buildings anywhere in the UK, has a typical property price of £167,771. Zoopla analysis found the longer an area has enjoyed World Heritage Status, the higher the property values are, as the area reaps the economic benefits. The first 10 UK locations to be granted World Heritage Status between 1986 and 1987, including Bath, Stonehenge and Blenheim Palace, have an average value of £424,873, compared to just £274,611 for the locations chosen since 2000. In July of this year the Forth Bridge in Scotland became the UK’s latest World Heritage Site. Located between Edinburgh and Dunfermline, average homes in the area currently cost £202,011. The traditional World Heritage Sites in London are the most expensive to live near. Properties in the proximity of the Palace of Westminster and Westminster Abbey are comfortably the priciest heritage location in the country, with a typical value of £1,715,292. ‘Bradford and Liverpool offer fantastic opportunities for potential buyers to live in cities which have shaped world culture,’ said Lawrence Hall of Zoopla . ‘Britain’s World Heritage Sites have contributed massively to our history and our research shows that living near to one can add significantly to a property’s value. Looking at the most recent site to gain World Heritage Status, home owners near the Forth Bridge could expect to see property values increase in future, as the full benefits the award brings to the area begin to be felt,’ he added. Continue reading
Homes in London, the south east and south west sell more often
Homes in London and the South East and South West of England change hands much more frequently than those in other parts of the country, according to a new analysis. Properties are held by their owners for an average of just 16 years in the South East and 17 years in London and the South West. By contrast, home owners in the North East are keeping their homes the longest, with property changing hands every 22 years on average, 36% longer between sales than the South East. The research report from mover conveyancing services firm My Home Move, says that a higher rate of property ‘turnover’ between owners is a sign of a healthy housing market as people move to new areas for work, upgrade to a larger home to accommodate a growing family or downsize when they no longer need the extra space. ‘Homes in healthy property markets change hands often, as people move up the housing ladder or move to new areas for jobs or a change of lifestyle. Our research reveals that the stronger job market and higher incomes in the South mean that people buy and sell homes more often than in the North,’ said the firm’s chief executive officer Doug Crawford. ‘Interestingly, it’s not just the South East that has a relatively healthy number of homes changing hands as the West Country is also thriving. Regional towns like Exeter, Bath and Bristol have vibrant housing markets and the region as a whole also benefits from people moving there from other parts of England for a slice of the good life,’ he added. The research also found that the amount of time between house sales has fallen dramatically over the last five years, down by 24% across England as a whole from once every 25 years to an average of every 19 years. The greatest improvement was seen in the Yorkshire and Humberside region which saw the time between sales fall from once every 28 years to once every 19 years. This was followed by the East Midlands, improving from once every 25 years to once every 18 years. Crawford believes that it is reassuring to see that homes are changing hands much more often than they were five years ago. ‘This has been a period of economic growth and the house market has been improving hand in hand with the economy. The combination of low inflation, reduced unemployment and improving wages means that people feel confident in their prospects and are more enthusiastic about moving to a new home,’ he explained. ‘At the same time, improving mortgage availability and low interest costs have made it easier for consumers to finance a home purchase. With interest rates set to stay low for longer, according to the latest Bank of England predictions, the next 12 months could see a further improvement in the housing market across the country,’ he added. Continue reading
Residential rents in Australian capital cities up 0.1% month on month
Residential rents across Australian capital cities were virtually unchanged in October, down by 0.1% over the previous month, according to the latest index data. Rents were lower in four of the eight capital cities covered by the CoreLogic RP Data rental review report and the annual rate of change increased slightly from 0.5% in September to 0.6% in October. There is an ongoing softening in the rental market, according to CoreLogic research analyst Cameron Kusher, who said that with just two months remaining to the end of the year it seems that rental growth will be very soft over 2015 as a whole. ‘The construction boom across the capital cities, coupled with slowing population growth, low mortgage rates and the recent heightened level of activity from investors are the major contributing factors to the slowing rental growth,’ he explained. He pointed out that Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane have continued to record rental rises over the last year however, each city is seeing a slowing in the pace of rental growth relative to 12 months ago. 'Clearly, the increase in investment stock is providing landlords with little scope to lift rental rates while the low mortgage rate environment provides little incentive to push yields higher,’ Kusher said. A breakdown of the data shows that rental rates were $483 per week and they have increased by just 0.2% over the first 10 months of the year while they have risen by 0.6% over the past 12 months. Only Sydney and Melbourne have recorded rental increases greater than 2% over the year. Rents have fallen over the year in Perth and Darwin, while the remaining capitals have seen rents rise by less than 2% over the year. It is anticipated that the rate of rental growth will continue to slow over the coming months due to increased supply of housing and rental stock and slower migration rates. Looking across the individual capital cities, over the past year, Sydney and Melbourne have recorded the greatest increases in weekly rents. Over the past month, weekly rents have moved lower across every capital city except Sydney, Hobart and Canberra where they rose and in Melbourne where they were unchanged. Over the past three months rents are lower in all capital cities except for Sydney and Melbourne. Continue reading
