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Home purchase lending up just 1% in final month of 2014, CML data shows
House purchase lending to home buyers increased slightly by 1% month on month in December but compared to December 2013, the number of loans fell by 5%, according to the latest CML data. However, the figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders also show that first time buyers saw a month on month lending increase, up 3% on November, but still 3% down on December 2013. By value, £3.8 billion was advanced to first time buyers in December, 6% up on November but unchanged compared to December 2013 while the number of loans advanced to home movers was 29,500, the same as November but down 8% on December 2013. By value, lending to movers totalled £5.5 billion, up 2% on November but 2% down on December 2013. Remortgage lending activity also saw a decline with the number of remortgage loans 7% down on November and 13% down on December 2013. The value of these loans at £3.4 billion was down 6% on the previous month and down 11% on December the previous year. Buy to let loans totalled 17,300 in December, unchanged from November but up 18% compared to December 2013. The total value of these loans at £2.5 billion was up 4% month on month and up 32% compared to December 2013. On a quarterly basis home owner house purchase lending fell 5% and was down 3% compared to the fourth quarter of 2013. The value of these loans at £28.8 billion declined compared to the third quarter by 8% but was up 2% compared to the same period in 2013. First time buyers in the fourth quarter of 2014 saw minimal change compared to the previous quarter and the same quarter in 2013. There were 80,100 loans advanced to first time buyers in this period, down 2% on the third quarter and unchanged compared to the fourth quarter of 2013. The value of these loans totalled £11.6 billion, which was down 5% on the third quarter but 5% up on the fourth quarter of 2013. Home movers were advanced 93,100 loans in the fourth quarter, a decline of 8% compared to the third quarter and 5% down year on year. These loans totalled £17.2 billion in value, 10% down on the previous quarter, but unchanged compared to the fourth quarter of 2013. Remortgage lending declined this quarter with 73,100 loans advanced, down 3% on the third quarter and 13% down on the fourth quarter 2013. The value of these loans at £11.1 billion declined 4% quarter on quarter and 10% year on year compared to the fourth quarter 2013. Buy to let loans totalled 54,000 in the fourth quarter of 2014, up 4% on the previous quarter and up 16% on the same period in 2013. This totalled in value £7.7 billion, an increase of 5% on the third quarter and up 26% on the fourth quarter 2013. Overall for 2014, home owner house purchase totalled 676,900 loans, up 11% on… Continue reading
UK asking prices up 2.1% in February
Average price of property coming to the market in the UK increased by 2.1% or over £5,000 this month with all regions reporting growth, according to the latest index report from Rightmove. This takes the average asking price to £279,004 and the annual price growth to 6.6% but this is down from 8.2% in January. The report says that there is an increasing demand for property and overall there has been a 31% increase in housing transactions in last two years in England and Wales, outstripping the 11% rise in the number of properties coming to the market in same period. The result is that demand is outstripping supply and some agents are reporting their lowest ever stock of quality property for sale. Indeed, there has been a 4% fall in new seller numbers compared to same period in 2014. ‘We’re now over a month into 2015, and despite predictions that the upcoming May election could slow home mover interest, Rightmove has recorded its busiest ever month for traffic and leads to agents,’ said Miles Shipside, Rightmove director and housing market analyst. He pointed out that decades of inadequate provision of homes to satisfy growth in demand are having an increasing effect, with a tight stock market resulting in a shortage of quality property for sale to trade up to. ‘For the right property at the right price, demand is outstripping supply and leading to some further upwards price pressure. However there is a limit to what the majority are willing or can afford to pay, especially with the tighter lending criteria,’ he explained. ‘In locations where there is a tight stock market some different tactics are required for a successful move as competition gets fiercer for quality homes as demand increases,’ he added. Housing demand is at a record high with visits to Rightmove hitting over 100 million in January for the first time ever and home hunters looking through a record 1.5 billion pages of property. New record busiest ever days were set on Sunday 25th and Monday 26th of January. The report also says that email and phone enquiries by home hunters to agents on Rightmove hit 4.3 million for the first time, equating to around 100 enquiries every minute. ‘Quality stock is in short supply in some locations, which is unsurprising given the structural under supply of homes and the recovery from the economic downturn,’ said Shipside. Indeed, Rightmove statistics show that the average available stock for sale per estate agency branch for the last two months at 57 and 58 properties has never been lower at the beginning of a year. New seller numbers this month are also 4% below those recorded in the same period in 2014. ‘Many who are contemplating moving will have noticed a lack of suitable property for sale in their area, and may be hoping that it’s a temporary shortage. What they may not fully appreciate is that this is the new norm, and… Continue reading
Australian office market sees record breaking end to 2014
A record breaking finish to 2014 has kick started momentum in the Australian office market in 2015 with demand and deals on the rise, according to a new report. Indeed, enquiries for the December 2014 quarter were up 75% compared to the December 2013 quarter and the greatest demand was for space 3,000 square meters and above, with this market up a record 173% on the December 2013 quarter. For the full calendar year, Australian business enquired about 2,256,814 square meters of office space in 2014 compared to 1,813,540 square meters in 2013, a national increase of 24%. Simon Hunt, Colliers International managing director of Office Leasing, said this points to improving business confidence and 2014 also proved to be a successful year for transacting deals, with the number of leases negotiated up by 28% on 2013 and the amount of space transacted also up from 2013 by 34%. ‘All markets, with the exception of the ACT, saw an increase in the number of deals and area transacted compared to 2013, with Victoria adding almost 100 extra deals to its 2013 tally,’ he explained. Throughout 2014, a standout performer for number of enquiries and amount of space enquired for was the information technology sector. This sector is expected to also be at the forefront of white collar employment growth in the year ahead, along with the business services and financial services sectors. ‘In 2015, white collar employment forecasts indicate that business services and financial services will show strong demand for office space over 1,000 square meters, pointing to strong short term demand for larger, open plan workplace environments and less decentralisation of employees occurring,’ added Hunt. Tenants returning to CBD markets was an emerging trend in 2014, and is anticipated to continue as corporates seek central locations, close to amenities to house their administration staff. According to Deloitte Access Economics’ respected White Collar Employment forecasts, the top five growing office sectors that will lead tenant demand nationally in 2015 will be Business Services, IT, Financial Services, Health and Accommodation services. ‘Based on the net growth in jobs for these sectors, of between 10,000 to 14,000 employees, over 150,000 square meters of space will be required to meet space demand,’ Hunt said. Simon Crouch, Colliers International national director of tenant representation, agreed that the IT would be a sector to watch in 2015 as while the majority of corporate tenants would remain cautiously optimistic, IT would be one sector which was in expansion mode. ‘This will continue in 2015 until there is some more certainty in global markets. In the year ahead, we are likely to see a continued restructuring or consolidation of space, in particular in the professional service sectors,’ he explained. ‘Some businesses will grow, but pressure on margins is going to ensure that the leaders of these firms will continue to look for opportunities to reduce their overheads and, as a result, cost of space,’ he added. Continue reading
