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Annual house price growth in England and Wales past peak of 2007
Annual house price growth in England and Wales was 5.4% in June, taking values to a new high of £181,619, according to the latest official property data from the Land Registry. This surpasses the previous peak of £180,983 in November 2007 and month on month prices increased by 1.1%, the data also shows. A regional breakdown of the data shows that the largest annual price growth was in London where prices were up 9.2% and the North East experienced the greatest monthly rise with a rise of 3%. Yorkshire and The Humber saw the lowest annual price increase of 1.4% and also saw the largest price fall month on month with values down 0.9%. Sales and repossessions during April 2015, the most up to date figures available, show that the number of completed house sales in England and Wales decreased by 19% to 57,180 compared with 70,244 in April 2014 The data also shows that the number of properties sold in England and Wales for over £1 million decreased by 22% to 874 from 1,114 a year earlier and repossessions in England and Wales decreased by 48% to 505 compared with 974 in April 2014. In the North East prices were up 3% month on month and 2.4% year on year to an average of £102,064 and in the North West they were up 0.2% month on month and 3.6% year on year to £114,754. In Wales prices increased 1.7% month on month and 2.7% year on year to an average of £181,619 while in the East Midlands the rise was 0.7% and 5% to £134,965 and in the West Midlands prices fell 0.2% but are still up 2.1% year on year to £137,209. The South West saw a month on month rise of 0.8% and an annual rise of 5.2% to an average of £189,850, the South East saw prices rise 0.4% month on month and 8.4% year on year to £247,375 and in London there was a 1.8% monthly rise and an annual increase of 9.2%, taking the average price of a home in the capital city to £481,820. In the East of England prices fell 0.8% month on month but are still up 7.8% compared with June 2014, taking the average property price in the region to £203,428 while Yorkshire and Humber also saw prices fall month on month by 0.9% but up 1.4% year on year to £121,070. A breakdown of the figures by property type shows that detached house have increased by 5.4% year on year to £284,478, semi-detached by 5% to £171,154, terraced homes by 5.4% to £137,123 and flats by 5.6% to £174,523. Adrian Gill, director of Your Move and Reeds Rains estate agents, described then figures as ‘healthy’. ‘Confidence at the bottom of the market is particularly strong and it is the region with the lowest average house price, the North East, that has seen the biggest monthly improvement in prices, as cheaper mortgage finance and government support… Continue reading
UK landlords prefer intermediaries and brokers for buy to let finance
UK landlords tend to use an intermediary or broker when it comes to arranging buy to let mortgages, new research has found. Some 69% chose this route while 13% arranged their most recent loan directly with a lender face to face, 12 with a lender over the telephone and 5% with a lender online, according to the report from the National Landlords Association (NLA). The research found the main reason given by 51% of landlords for using a broker was that they felt they were better placed to review products in the marketplace while 42% said that they had established a longstanding relationship with their broker. Of those who arranged their buy to let mortgage directly through a lender, 35% did so because they had an existing loan with them, and 27% did so because they already bank with them. ‘Brokers will be please to know that a large proportion of landlords chose to use them when arranging a buy to let mortgage and it shows that a good relationship goes a long way in business,’ said NLA chairman Carolyn Uphill. ‘These findings are interesting because, unlike most other products and services, completing transactions online is becoming more and more common. However, the variety of avenues to take when getting a buy to let mortgage can be time consuming and overwhelming and it’s difficult to know whether or not you have covered all bases, especially for those landlords that are new to the market,’ she explained. ‘This is why many put their faith in a broker and it reinforces that they are happy with the service they get,’ she added. Continue reading
UK house price sentiment dips slightly
The UK’s residential property market is likely to see continued house price momentum in the second half of 2015 but sentiment is down from last year’s highs, the latest index shows. Households still believe the value of their homes is rising and the July House Price Sentiment Index from Knight Frank and Markit Economics has now been in positive territory for 28 months in a row. However, July’s reading of 58.6 was a slight decrease on the 59.5 recorded in June, but it was still the second highest reading so far this year, an indication that households across the UK are still confidence that house prices are rising. Tim Moore, senior economist at Markit Economics, pointed out that UK house price sentiment in July was comfortably above the year and a half lows seen during February. ‘A gradual rebound in households’ property value perceptions has been underpinned by strong demand conditions so far this summer, alongside an underlying lack of supply and the continued low mortgage rate environment,’ he explained. He believes that these factors are likely to support house price momentum through the second half of 2015, but added that tighter mortgage lending rules and stretched affordability have brought down UK households’ expectations of future house price growth from last year’s record highs. Indeed, the future HPSI, which measures what households think will happen to the value of their property over the next year, fell marginally in July to 70.2, from 70.5 in June. On a rolling three monthly basis to July the future HPSI is 70.2, the same as the previous three months, an indication that expectations for future house price growth have flat lined. ‘Overall expectations for future house price growth remain firm, underpinned by a strengthening labour market, improving economy and ultra-low mortgage rates,’ said Grainne Gilmore, head of UK residential research at Knight Frank. ‘There is now more discussion about possible interest rate rises, but this, as well as the property tax announcements in the Summer Budget, has had little impact on average expectations for the direction of travel for house prices,’ she explained. ‘However, there are regional differences in the data, with the widest spread between the future HPSI reading in the North East and London than at any time since March last year, reflecting the differing dynamics of housing markets across the country, with local economic factors leading to a disparity in the levels of house price growth,’ she added. Continue reading
