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New analysis reveals severe home planning shortfall in England
The property planning shortfall in England could grow to 180,000 over the course of the next parliament unless local authorities work together, it is claimed. The planning system is not delivering housing where need and market demand is greatest, according to a new analysis from real estate firm Savills. Its shows that the number of homes planned by local authorities in England is likely to result in a shortfall of around 36,000 homes a year, unless local planning authorities take greater account of housing need both within and beyond their boundaries. ‘Failure to cooperate on housing requirements across local authority boundaries is likely to result in an accumulated planning shortfall of 180,000 homes over the next five years. This is before we consider what house builders and other developers can deliver relative to these targets,’ the report points out. Figures shows that last year building starts reached 136,000 in England. However, according to analysis undertaken on behalf of the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA), at least 240,000 new homes a year in England are needed from now to 2031. The greatest requirement is in London and the South East where the property market has been strongest. However, the Savills analysis shows that these are the areas where the deficiency in the number of homes being planned is likely to be the greatest. Housing targets adopted so far are 80% of the corresponding Strategic Housing Market Assessment (SHMA) figures across the country. ‘A continuation of this trend would result in a shortfall of 26,000 homes a year in the south and east of England, including London. This figure equates to 74% of total housing shortfall for the whole of England,’ the report says. Of a total 114 local authorities in the south and east of England, 31 or 27% have neither an adopted local plan nor a recent SHMA published since the National Policy Planning Framework (NPPF) was introduced in 2012, the report points out. Yet these local authorities currently accommodate a quarter of all existing households in the region and will face pressure to meet the requirements for housing emerging from London and surrounding local authorities,’ it adds. The 31 local authorities without post-NPPF local plans include Sevenoaks, Elmbridge and Epping Forest. These are strong housing markets where over 50% of the authority is designated as green belt. Shortfalls are less pronounced in the North, Midlands and west of England. Assuming targets adopted by the local authorities that still lack a post-NPPF plan are 80% of their SHMA, the annual planning shortfall could amount to 7,349 homes in the Midlands and west of England and 2,038 in the North. Despite the increase in planning permissions towards 200,000 homes per year in England last year, 20,000 were granted through appeal. A closer analysis reveals persistent problems in maintaining an adequate supply of land for housing and that this problem is most notable where the level of housing need is greatest. Continue reading
Spanish property markets such as Marbella see recovery, new analysis shows
After seven years of stagnation the property market in Spain is experiencing an uptick in sales and prices have reached bottom, according to a new analysis report. With the Spanish economy improving, unemployment falling, tax revenue growing and a more stable banking system, lending figures are on the rise, says the analysis from Diana Morales Properties, an associate of international real estate firm Knight Frank. It points out that the typical mortgage lending rate dropped from 4.21% to 3.29% over the course of 2014 and this has fed through to buyer confidence. Andalucía and the Canary Islands have seen some of the strongest surges in mortgage lending, up 25% and 26% respectively month on month, compared to the national average of 14.2%. This renewed confidence and interest in Spanish real estate is most evident in Madrid and Barcelona where capital flows into both cities’ commercial markets topped €2.7 billion in 2014, the analysis says. It also points out that the return of large US investment funds has been notable but not just in Spain’s main cities. ‘The acquisition of Sotogrande by US based Cerberus and developments to the east and west of Marbella by other US funds, as well as the purchase of Monte Mayor golf club by Russian investors hint at the extent to which the recovery is gaining traction,’ it says. Marbella, a popular area with overseas buyers is building on a property market recovery that began in 2013 despite Spanish buyers failing to return in any significant number in 2014 and the Ukraine crisis impacting on the number of Russian buyers. There was strong demand from an increasingly diversified client base of Scandinavian, Benelux, French, Arabian and Moroccan buyers which added to the record tourist numbers lending a certain buoyancy to the local economy. Marbella and its surrounding municipalities of Estepona and Benahavis together recorded a 27.7% increase in property sales in 2014 compared with a year earlier. Marbella, however, outperformed its neighbours, by experiencing an 89% jump in property sales between 2008 and 2014 according to Spain’s Ministry of Public Works. Benahavis and Estepona, by comparison, recorded rises of 62.3% and 22.8% respectively over the same period. It also reveals that the amount of time properties spend on the market is dropping if realistically priced, while in some prime beachfront locations there is even a shortage of available homes, complete with waiting lists for specific property types. The analysis says that new bank repossessions remain and this has prompted the return of new construction that remains for the moment primarily focused on individual villas and small to medium sized developments of apartments and villa communities. Continue reading
UK property market set for further growth due to stable election result
House prices in the UK, especially the prime property market in London, are set to rise on the back of the Conservative win at the general election, according to property experts. London is likely to see sales surge as people who put off buying, particularly overseas buyers, now go ahead and make a decision with the possibility of a mansion tax evaporated. Indeed, according to Edward Heaton, of Heaton and Partners property search agency prime country house prices could rise by as much as 10% within weeks. ‘There will be bun fights in the next few weeks for the best houses which come to the market as confidence in the top-end of the regional market returns,’ he said. ‘For many operating in the prime property market, there is a palpable sense of relief at the election outcome as there were some genuine concerns about the possible impact of mansion tax tied in with the attack on non-doms proposed by Labour,’ he added. The result will bring stability to the markets, according to Michelle van Vuuren, managing director of residential development at Sotheby’s International Realty UK. The firm is already getting calls from would be international buyers. ‘The removal of the uncertainty that has clouded the last year of the coalition will allow developers to plan confidently for the medium term with a consistent economic policy. Having said that, we do hope to see the Tories come good on their annual pledge of 200,000 new homes and freeing up brownfield sites for development,’ she said. ‘Increasing the supply of homes is the only way to truly overcome the hurdles that the housing market places for the majority of buyers. At the top end, for the next five years at least, a cessation of the clamour for a mansion tax will see a number of transactions that have stalled to come back on line as certitude creeps back into the market. It is going to be an exciting time to be in the London market,’ she added. ‘Andrew Ellinas, director of central and north west London agency Sandfords, believes that confidence will return quickly and it is likely that there will be a significant late spring bounce in activity as those who have held back start to act. ‘London has established itself around the world as a safe and thriving place to invest and increased confidence will once again be restored and with that see the return of overseas investors. It has felt like the market was becalmed and now will steam ahead once again, with London prices that have been subdued steadily rising throughout the second half of the year,’ he pointed out. ‘My advice to those who have been thinking about selling, but awaiting political certainty, is to make a move now and beat the rush. The market has been challenged most recently by a lack of stock, but this is likely to change quite swiftly now, creating more competition for vendors. Take… Continue reading
