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Scottish residential rents up 3.1% in a year
Year on year residential rents in Scotland increased by 3.1% in June, up from the 2.7% recorded in the previous month, the latest index data shows. This rise takes average rents to a new peak of £549 a month and June’s figure represents the fastest year on year rise since April 2014, according to the buy to let index from lettings agent Your Move. Rents also increased month on month, up 0.8%, which was a slight slowdown from the 1% recorded in May. But in the preceding six months rents were climbing at a rate of only 0.1% per month. The index shows that rents are hitting all-time local records in the parts of Scotland that have traditionally been more affordable to live, where rental prices are usually lower. On an annual basis, rents have risen across all five regions of Scotland and as rent growth accelerates across the country, new price records have been set in the East, Highlands and Islands and the South. Glasgow & Clyde have seen the biggest boost in rents year on year, with typical rental rises up 4.6% since June 2014. Rents in the Highlands and Islands have jumped 4.3% in the past twelve months, taking the average monthly rent to a record high of £563. Similarly, rents in the East and South of Scotland have both reached a new peak following annual rent rises of 4% and 2.1% respectively. In contrast, Edinburgh and the Lothian’s has experienced the smallest yearly increase of only 0.8% but this marks an improvement from negative growth in the year to May 2015. Rents in all five regions of Scotland are also higher month on month. The average monthly rent in the Highlands and Islands has risen at the quickest pace since May, increasing by 2.4%. Compared to the previous month, Edinburgh and the Lothian’s have seen a 1.7% rise in June. This brings the average rent in the area to £604 as it continues to be the most expensive location in Scotland to rent. In Glasgow and Clyde rents are 0.6% higher since May, and the South has witnessed a 0.5% monthly climb in rental prices. The East of Scotland has seen a more modest 0.2% uplift in the month to June 2015, a considerable slowdown. ‘It’s not just the big urban centres of Edinburgh and Glasgow which are coming up against an urgent shortfall of housing. There is strong demand for homes to let the length and breadth of the nation, and that is underpinning this build-up in rental prices,’ said Brian Moran Your Move lettings director. The index also shows that as of June 2015, the average gross yield on a rental property in Scotland stands at 3.8%, on par with the previous month, but down on a year ago when gross yields were 4% in June 2014. Taking into account property price growth and void periods between tenants,… Continue reading
Catchment areas of good schools in UK attracting higher property rent premium
Competition for school places in some of the UK’s best educational establishments is affecting the private rental market with more homes near them being rented to families, new research suggests. Some 28% of properties rented around schools with outstanding ratings from school inspectors OFSTED went to families with children, up from 26% in 2014 and 9% in 2008 In London competition for school places means that for the first time over half of properties rented around the best schools go to families with children, according to the latest quarterly lettings index from Countrywide plc. The firm suggests that while this is a product of the significant increase in competition for school places, the growing number of families living in the private rented sector means more of them move both for work and their children’s education. While the figures in London are most marked for schools rated outstanding, the pressure on school places in the capital means there has been uplift in families with children renting in the area surrounding most schools. Given it is the address from which the school application is made in January that the application is assessed against, the summer months are when most families think about moving. Over half of families with children in the private rented sector move during June, July, August or September in time for the forthcoming academic year. Households with children moving into the area close to an outstanding school don’t move far, an average of just half a mile. This confirms the fine margins involved getting into school catchment areas. This distance is considerably shorter than the three miles the average households in the private rented sector moves, the report explains. As with house prices, tenants pay a premium to live close to a high performing school. Given tenants move more often than home owners, this premium tends to be smaller. In 2015 the average tenant living within a kilometre of a school rated outstanding paid 14% more than someone living more than a kilometre away. While the premium attached to one and two bedroom flats is almost negligible, tenants living in three or four bedroom houses pay an average of 16% more. Where catchment areas are particularly tightly defined, a house on one side of the road can be let for 15% to 20% more than an identical house on the other side. ‘There are 1.6 million families with children living in the private rented sector, 20% more than last year, which means school catchment areas are becoming increasingly relevant to the rental market,’ said David Fell, research analyst at Countrywide. ‘Many of these families are choosing to rent close to the school gates and in some cases parents are taking advantage of the flexibility of renting to move from the fringes of their preferred school’s catchment area to ensure their child’s entry,’ he pointed out. ‘The flexibility of renting can… Continue reading
Year on year US foreclosure inventory falls for 43rd month in a row
Foreclosure inventory in the United States has fallen for 43 consecutive months, year on year, down to just 1.3% of homes. The latest data from CoreLogic shows that national foreclosure inventory fell by 27.4% in May compared with the previous year to approximately 491,000 homes. Also in May 2015, the 12 month sum of completed foreclosures fell by 18.1% to 528,000, since May 2014 while the seriously delinquent inventory fell to 1.3 million loans, a 22.7% year on year decline. There were 47 states that posted year on year declines in the foreclosure inventory, and 27 of those states had decreases of more than 20% while only three states had year on year increases. The five states with the largest year on year drop in the foreclosure inventory were Florida with a fall of 47%, Connecticut at 36.5%, Idaho at 35.6, Washington at 35.3% and Illinois at 34.5%. The District of Columbia saw a 22.5% rise and the three states with foreclosure inventory growth were Massachusetts up 22.4%, Wyoming up 18.2% and South Dakota up 1.1%. Judicial foreclosure states continued to have higher foreclosure rates in May 2015 than non-judicial states, averaging 2.2% and 0.7% percent, respectively. The data also shows that the foreclosure rate for judicial states peaked in February 2012 at 5.4% while non-judicial states experienced peak foreclosure rates of 2.5% in January 2011. As of May 2015 some 42% of outstanding mortgages were in judicial states, but 71% of total loans in foreclosure were in those states. Continue reading
