Tag Archives: real-estate
Prices continue to fall slightly in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, index data shows
Residential property prices in Dubai have fallen by 9.9% year on year and 0.75% month on month while rental prices are also down, according to the latest index data. A breakdown of the figures from the REIDIN index shows that apartment prices fell 10.4% year on year and are down 0.55% month on month while villa prices fell 8% year on year and 1.45% month on month in August. On the sales front apartment transactions were down for both apartments and villas. Month on month rents fell by 0.76% and 1.4% year on year, the data also shows. Apartment rental prices increased 1% compared with July but are 1.1% below August 2014 while villa rental priced fell 0.6% month on month and are down 2.9% year on year. In neighbouring Abu Dhabi property prices decreased 0.17% month on month and are down 3% year on year. Apartment prices registered a 0.46% decrease in August 2015 and are down 3.7% year on year while villa prices increased by 0.14% month on month but are down 2% compared to the previous year. Rents fell 0.23% month on month but are up 0.5% compared to August 2014. The data shows that for apartment rental prices fell 0.22% month on month and are down 0.8% year on year while villa rental prices fell 0.04% month on month and are up 2.2% year on year. Meanwhile, data from the Dubai Land Department suggests that the market is still attracting international buyers. Foreign investment into the property sector across Dubai increased to Dh53 billion in the first half of 2015. In Abu Dhabi a new decree has been issued to regulate and improve transparency in the emirate's real estate sector, requiring brokers and developers to be licensed and introducing rules to protect buyers of projects that are not yet completed. The rules, due to come into being soon, cover property advertising and marketing and introduce a means for complaints to be submitted and resolved more easily. All real estate developments must be registered with the government along with sales transactions listing the buyer. It means that new developments cannot be promoted or sold until they receive government approval and for unfinished projects, payments by buyers will be held in a separate, ring fenced account, while brokers will not be allowed to represent more than one party in a single transaction. Continue reading
UK house prices up 5.2% year on year, says latest ONS index
UK house prices increased by 5.2% in the year to August 2015, unchanged from the previous month but excluding London and the South East the increase was 4.8%, the latest official figures show. House prices increased by 5.6% in England, 0.8% in Wales, 2.9% in Northern Ireland and fell 0.9% in Scotland, according to the figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS). The data also shows that annual house price increases in England were driven by an annual increase in the East of 8.8% and the South East at 7.4% while month on month they increased by 0.7% nationwide. In August 2015, prices paid by first time buyers were 3.8% higher on average than in August 2014 and for existing owners prices increased by 5.8% for the same period. The North East recovered from an annual fall in house prices in the year to July 2015 of 0.7% to show annual growth of 2.9% in the year to August and London prices increased by 4.2% over the year to August 2015, down from 5.5% in the year to July 2015. Average mix-adjusted house prices in August 2015 stood at £298,000 in England, £174,000 in Wales, £151,000 in Northern Ireland and £198,000 in Scotland. Excluding London and the South East, the average UK mix-adjusted house price was £217,000. London continued to be the English region with the highest average house price at £522,000 and the North East had the lowest average house price at £160,000. London, the South East and the East all had prices higher than the UK average price of £284,000. According to Adrian Gill, director of Reeds Rains and Your Move estate agents, growth is primarily being underpinned by sturdy demand and solid activity at the bottom of the property ladder. ‘The cheaper northern regions are experiencing the fastest growth in property sales, while a shortage of property stock on the market in the south is slowing activity,’ he said. ‘The most frequently paid property price across England and Wales is just £125,000, mirroring the level at which stamp duty becomes payable, and reflecting the impetus that has been injected in the first-time buyer market recently,’ he pointed out. ‘It is also the lower to mid-range properties priced between £180,000 and £360,000 which are seeing the fastest increases in value, while the shift in stamp duty bands continues to slow growth at the higher end of the market, and prices above £600,000 are largely stationary,’ he explained. ‘Despite this, London is firmly back in the driving seat of property price rises, following a slight pit stop, and is having a much greater influence on national measures of price growth on an annual basis. As in the rest of the country, it’s the more affordably priced London boroughs which are behind this renaissance, as the strengthening of sterling, rising stamp duty rates and moves against non-doms take their toll on the high end market,’ he added. Lora Roberts, portfolio manager at estate agent Ascend… Continue reading
Cheaper to buy than rent in over a third of cities in the UK
It is cheaper to buy than rent in more than a third of cities in the UK with buying most effective in the north of the country, new research shows. Mortgage payments are less expensive than monthly rent in 36% of British cities and home owners in Glasgow are more than £100 per month better off than their renting counterparts. However, in the south renting still beats buying, with buyers in London, Reading and Cambridge forking out hundreds more to own property there, according to the research from property search firm Zoopla. But overall the analysis of the cost of renting a two bedroom home compared to servicing a mortgage shows that nationwide, renters still pay £58 less per month than buyers. Buyers did particularly well compared to their renting counterparts in Scotland and the North of England. In Glasgow, rental payments amount to an average of £596 per month, whereas monthly mortgage payments only totaled £447. This means Glaswegian buyers are paying 25% or £149 a month less to own property than rent it. The research also shows that in Hull, buyers who pay on average £397 a month are £55 better off than renters in the city who pay an average of £452 per month to rent. Conversely, the south eastern corner of the UK represents the best value for money for renters. The average London tenant pays rent of £2,218 per month, whereas the capital’s home owners pay an average of £3,302 on servicing their mortgages, meaning buyers there are paying 49% or £1,084 a month more than the city’s renters. Buyers in Reading and Cambridge can also expect to pay more. On average, owners in Reading typically pay £3,600 a year more than tenants, while servicing a mortgage in Cambridge costs £3,700 more a year on average. Nationwide, the current average asking rent for a two bedroom home is £666 per month, compared to an average asking price of £145,840. As a result, servicing a 90% LTV mortgage typically costs £58 more per month than the average tenant would pay for renting such a property. Aside from the initial deposit, and all the fees associated with the actual house purchase, the financial strain of buying can be overstated. In addition to the peace of mind that home buying brings, many owners enjoy more disposable income at the end of every month than their renting counterparts, said Lawrence Hall of Zoopla. ‘If they can make the leap, and are willing to relinquish the flexibility that comes with renting, tenants up north in particular would be much better off buying and paying off a mortgage every month,’ he explained. He pointed out that Scotland and the North of England are cementing their standing as international university hubs with top universities in York, Edinburgh and Durham. ‘This means increasingly high numbers of students are flock to these areas, all looking for places to stay and… Continue reading
