Tag Archives: stumbleupon
UK agents launch 2015 manifesto for sale and rental housing sectors
Estate and lettings agents in the UK have launched their 2015 housing manifesto calling for better supply, enhanced regulation, and a change to property taxes. The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) and Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) launched the manifesto today at the third consecutive NAEA Conference. During the last six months NAEA and ARLA have met professionals, politicians, experts and campaigners across the UK to understand their hopes and fears for the housing sector. The three main concerns which were identified were the lack of supply, a need for more regulation in lettings and sales, and appropriate taxes across the whole property spectrum. ‘Britain is standing today on the precipice of a crisis in the supply of housing. We are simply not building enough homes to meet burgeoning demand from both the sales and private rented sectors,’ said Mark Hayward, managing director, NAEA. ‘We are growing as a society, and our needs for housing have developed from what they may have been previously. But what still rings true is that everyone has a universal right to a home. And our deep-rooted concern is that government policy on housing, as it currently stands, cannot deliver on this requirement,’ he pointed out. He explained that providing housing, or more importantly homes, requires finance, suitable land, time and skill. ‘Policymakers seem to have forgotten this. Housing cannot be a political football for future governments to use to score points against each other. Ultimately we need to take the politics out of housing. We know this is easier said than done. So instead we ask for all future parliamentarians to maintain a long-term progressive view and to deliver on our manifesto commitments,’ he added. David Cox, ARLA managing director, highlighted the need for greater regulation in the private rented sector. ‘Britain currently maintains a two tier private rented market, consisting of those who operate to professional standards and those that do not,’ he said. ‘Consumers often do not know the difference between the two, thus the onus falls on them to be able to tell the difference. Our agents are already regulated and operate to the highest professional standards. They are fully qualified and we offer tenants and landlords client money protection,’ he explained. ‘The certainty we provide should not be the gold standard, but what every consumer should demand from their agent. It is imperative therefore that letting agents be members of a client money protection scheme, and that regulation be tightened for the entire industry,’ he added. ‘Greater regulation for letting agents in particular will ensure fairness, a level playing field and the removal of those agents who bring the industry into disrepute,’ he concluded. Continue reading
Signs of a strong house market recovery in the UK regions
The outlook for the UK housing market in 2015 is positive, despite some challenges, with signs of a strong recovery in the regions, according to the latest quarterly analysis report. National estate agent Strutt & Parker is forecasting UK house price growth of 5% in 2015 overall and 9% in the Greater London area. But prime central London is expected to stagnate at 0%. According to Stephanie McMahon, head of research at Strutt & Parker, there is still an imbalance between London and the rest of the UK but there are signs of strong recovery in the regions as buyers outside the capital look for affordability. ‘The holding off of interest rate rises, now not expected before autumn 2015 at the earliest, is a big positive. This combined with continued wage growth and low inflation, should give the national market the momentum it needs. We should see a flurry of activity up until the autumn as buyers take advantage of the low interest rate environment,’ she explained. As part of the report, Strutt & Parker with its retained economic advisors Volterra, also analysed the behavioural profiles of its buyers who purchased country homes in the £2 million plus market outside of London throughout 2014. It was clear that the majority, 79%, were buying a large country home for their primary residence while for 13% it was a second home and 8% were buying as an investment. The firm believes that this could be linked to the increasingly high cost of buying and moving, meaning that people are choosing to buy one large house rather than two smaller ones or numerous buy to let investment properties. ‘The beginning of 2015 has seen a significant increase in new applicants registered with us looking for prime properties in excess of £2 million. We are witnessing at least double the amount of potential purchasers enquiring about properties we are currently offering or are now bringing to the market,’ said James Mackenzie, Strutt & Parker’s head of Country Department. ‘However, our viewing levels are not higher, which would indicate that there are a significant number of people who are beginning to look at moving but are waiting to see what the market has in store for this year,’ he added. The report shows that 2014 saw a significant increase in the number of transactions compared to 2013 especially in the regions outside of Greater London, as well as in Scotland, both of which recorded 7.8% and 11.6% growth respectively. In Scotland, 93,972 homes were sold in 2014, worth a total of £15.4 billion. In Greater London, 110,417 homes were sold in 2014, worth a total of £57.8 billion. ‘Given the pending election, we are pleasantly surprised at the levels of activity, most specifically in those areas closest to London, in the sub £2 million market,’ said Guy Robinson, head of Regional Residential Agency at Strutt… Continue reading
Two thirds of buyers in England and Wales to benefit from stamp duty tax change
More than two thirds of buyers in England and Wales will benefit from the stamp duty changes announced last year and it is set to stimulate housing market activity. According to a new analysis of land registry prices by the Nationwide Building Society some 86% of housing transactions in London and the South East should benefit and 85% of transactions in Cardiff North will see a reduction in stamp duty payable. This comes as the slab structure of the tax was completely abolished, with purchasers paying the marginal tax rate on the relevant elements of the purchase price. Overall some 98% of buyers will pay the same or less tax and only those purchasing homes costing between £937,500 and £1 million or more than £1,125,000 are set to pay more. The Nationwide report says that the new marginal SDLT should help to remove the distortions caused by the slab structure, which led to a clustering of transactions. The greatest impact is likely to be for homeowners looking to buy property just above £250,000, who could save around £5,000 in tax or around 2% of the purchase price. Based on 2013/2014 transactions data from the Land Registry, nearly 590,000 purchasers in England and Wales would benefit under the new regime, with an average benefit of around £1,600. The benefits tend to be greater in areas where average house prices are higher and thus a higher proportion of transactions are liable for stamp duty. The report estimates that 86% of transactions in London and the South East regions would benefit from the changes, compared with around 50% across the North East, North West, and Yorkshire and the Humber. A further breakdown of the figures show that only a small number of sales would see people paying more while a large number would see no change. In England and Wales as a whole 71% would benefit, 28% see no difference and 2% would pay more. So, in London 86% would benefit, 7% would see no change and 7% would pay more. In the South East 86% would benefit, 13% would see no change and just 2% would pay more while in the East of England 81% would benefit, 18% see no change and 1% pay more. Elsewhere no one would pay more. In the South West 81% would benefit and 18% would see no difference. In the West Midlands it is 61% and 39%, in the East Midlands 58% and 42%, in Yorkshire and the Humber 53% and 43%, in the North West 51% and 49% and in the North East 45% and 54%. While in Wales it is 53% and 47%. Continue reading
