Tag Archives: stumbleupon
UK farm land reaches record price per acre for eleven months in a row
Farm land in the UK continued to outpace supply in the final six months of 2014, with land prices rising by 8.3% over the year, the latest data shows. That took the average price per acre to over £10,067, a record high for 11 months in a row, according to the latest RICS/RAU Rural Land Market Survey. During the same period in 2013 an acre cost, on average, £9,294. Despite anecdotal evidence that the recent fall in commodity prices is starting to temper the pace of demand, particularly for smaller areas of land in all parts of the country, prices are expected to continue to rise over the next 12 months. The increase in demand from lifestyle buyers that began in the second half of 2013 continued throughout the whole of 2014 with this trend being noticed across most parts of the UK. RICS said that this is adding to price pressures and keeping price expectations in positive territory in all areas. Anecdotal evidence also seems to suggest the continued presence in the market of investor purchasers seeing land as a safe haven. Across the UK the supply of commercial farmland has remained flat or decreased in nine of the ten areas, while demand has continued to grow in all but one part of the UK. According to surveyors, average annual arable land rents decreased in the second half of 2014 for the first time in six years but remain 0.8% higher over the year. Pasture lands rents, on the other hand, rose by 3.4% in the first half and by 7.8% over the year to reach £107 per acre. The highest annual price growth in the UK was seen in Scotland, despite uncertainty driven by the referendum and CAP review. Prices in Scotland rose almost 17% over the year, although at just £4,375 per acre, prices in Scotland are still 47% below the national average with the price of pasture land at least 40% cheaper than any other part of the UK. RICS said that it remains to be seen whether the recent announcement on plans to overhaul tenant farming will have any effect on land prices. ‘Although there are a number of potential issues on the horizon which may have an impact on confidence, including land reform and the implementation of CAP review, surveyors remain optimistic that prices across Scotland will continue to rise over the next 12 months,’ said Sarah Speirs, director of RICS Scotland. According to surveyors, average arable land rents in Scotland remained relatively flat in the second half of 2014 at £85 per acre, behind the national average of £158 per acre. ‘Decrease in supply and steady demand has kept prices static. We have seen a very buoyant market for good arable farm land but much slower market for pasture land. There is strong demand for land to rent but very limited supply without grazing licences,’ explained Rod Christie of CKD Galbraith in Elgin. Yorkshire and Humber… Continue reading
UK starter homes initiative could create infrastructure shortfall
UK Government plans to create 100,000 cut-price homes for first time buyers risks creating a shortfall in local infrastructure, according to the British Property Federation (BPF) has warned. In its response to a government consultation on its ‘Starter Homes’ initiative, the BPF said that exempting developers from providing necessary infrastructure could mean that other sites in the area will find themselves under additional pressure to cope with a resulting shortfall in amenities. While praising the government for its ambitious approach to increasing the supply of housing, the trade body said the overall effect of the proposals may hold back development in surrounding areas. The BPF suggested that there should perhaps be the option for developers to provide some of the necessary infrastructure in exceptional circumstances, over and above the contributions suggested for site-specific development mitigation. The initiative proposes to bring forward 100,000 homes for first time buyers. Developers will be encouraged to see the homes at a discounted rate in return for building on brownfield sites and being exempt from infrastructure requirements. ‘While the Starter Homes initiative is welcome and holds a lot of potential, the detail does need to be worked through more carefully if it is to work in practice,’ said Melanie Leech, chief executive of the British Property Federation. ‘Infrastructure is vital for places to succeed – not only transport infrastructure, but space for people to work and relax, and the right social infrastructure for a healthy society. Many brownfield sites are lacking in amenities, so we would urge government to act carefully to make sure that starter homes do not hamper the wider growth of their surrounding areas,’ she added. Meanwhile, the property industry has today backed Labour’s plans to consider designating large scale housing as national infrastructure. Labour’s draft remit for a new National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) sets out 10 national infrastructure goals. It includes making sure that the enabling infrastructure is in place to support rapid housing development and that housing investment is integrated with investment in transport and utilities. The British Property Federation has consistently lobbied government to include residential into the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Plan (NSIP) regime, repeatedly pointing out that the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) advocates mixed-use development, and that sustainable communities need to include a mix of both commercial and residential units. Including a provision for residential in the NSIP regime could help unlock significant amounts of much needed housing development. ‘If we are to deliver housing at scale at the same time as creating commercial hubs that will drive economic growth, we need to encourage the development of well connected, mixed use communities where people can both live and work. Including residential within the NSIP process would be a significant step forward in this respect, and we hope that whoever is in power after the next election takes this forward,’ said Leech. Continue reading
Warning over use of photos in tenancy disputes
The use of technology in inventories appears to save time and money, but UK lettings agents and landlords are being warned that in reality it is not full proof. Often technology does not allow for the inclusion of sufficient detail to provide indisputable evidence of the original condition at the start of a tenancy, according to research by My Property Inventories. The perception of inventories by some lettings agents is that inventories can be very long, time consuming and somewhat of a laborious process. As a result, several landlords and management companies opt for the use of technology in inventories believing it will save them time and money. The use of technology in inventories claims to help landlords and management companies to complete inventories in a matter of minutes, with the ability to add large quantities of photographs, which can provide evidence in tenancy, dispute claims. But according to Danny Zane, director of My Property Inventories, in many tenancy dispute cases, the adjudicators are likely to reject some technology based inventories, as they cannot deliver the level of detail required which means that the landlord can lose hundreds of pounds in lost cases. ‘Many landlords and agents are using digital evidence to replace essential written descriptions in inventories, at check-in and check-out, leaving landlords exposed to potentially costly disputes over damage and other issues. The law clearly states that the deposit remains the tenant’s money and that they are entitled to get it back at the end of their stay, provided they have met the terms of the tenancy agreement, so the onus lies with the agent or landlord to provide proof of any proposed deductions,’ he said. ‘Without an accurate and properly detailed inventory, a landlord has no evidence to prove that the property has been damaged in any way during the tenancy and therefore will find it almost impossible to withhold any deposit money from the tenants. A glossy inventory that relies heavily on photographs will be of little use in a dispute. In fact, there is no point in producing a picture book for an inventory, with very little proper description and hundreds of photographs. Inventories like these just do not provide enough detail,’ he explained. ‘Photography and video are great for large areas of damage such as carpet burns, serious damage to worktops and interior décor etc. However, they are not so good for showing really fine detail of the sort of problems that occur most frequently on a check-out, such as small chips and scratches in sinks and baths, knife marks on worktops, scratches to halogen hobs. All of which will cause financial loss to the landlord if negligence can’t be proved,’ he added. The firm points out that inventory reports should contain a full description of a property and its contents, with detail on… Continue reading
