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UK home sales steady, seasonally adjusted figures show
Sales of residential property in the UK remained steady at the end of 2014, with seasonally adjusted transaction levels in December around the same level as November. The HMRC statistics also show that sales in December 2014 were 0.4% lower compared with the same month in 2013 and on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, residential property transactions increased 2.3% year on year. Peter Rollings, chief executive officer of Marsh & Parsons, pointed out that while other housing market indicators started to flounder towards the end of 2014, sales held steady. ‘The additional pressure of loan to income caps and stricter affordability regulations has slowed mortgage lending somewhat, but consumer confidence hasn’t slipped and the Stamp Duty overhaul is injecting a new lease of life into demand in the New Year,’ he explained. ‘House price growth was fading in the final few months of the year, as increased supply of housing stock relaxed the competition on the market and gave buyers a breather. Demand continues to be healthy, and combined with rock-bottom interest rates and attractive mortgage products, activity will pulse through the market and push forward further price rises According to Danny Waters, chief executive officer of Enterprise Finance, while December is traditionally a quiet time of year for residential property transactions, the non-residential market isn’t bound by the same conventions and saw an uptick at the end of 2014. ‘Whereas home seekers don’t want the upheaval of completing and moving around Christmas time, businesses often don’t have the same luxury of placing plans on the back burner and have to act more decisively,’ he pointed out. ‘These latest figures and the year on year improvement suggest a non-residential market headed in the right direction, but commercial mortgages can still be harder to obtain than residential home loans if buyers don’t look in the right places,’ he explained. ‘Indifferent attitudes from high street banks mean non-residential purchasers are often better served by specialist lenders and brokers are well positioned to help introduce the two,’ he added. Continue reading
Average prime property prices in London up £260 a day in 2014
Average prime London property values rose by £260 a day over last year, and Balham saw the biggest leap as prices jump by 21% over the 12 months period, new data shows. Overall the majority of property market gains in London were made in first half of 2014, and prices dropped 1.6% during the final three months of the year, the first quarterly fall since the second quarter of 2011. The data from the latest London Property Monitor report from Marsh & Parson, also shows that supply of Prime London property for sale increased by 26% in last three months of 2014 and the New Year has seen an uplift in demand, with 13 buyers to every available property in January. The average Prime London home has risen in value by £95,000 in the past year but in Balham they have jumped £152,000 over the same period. With property prices in outer prime areas of the capital typically 25% lower than the wider prime London average, stronger demand for more affordable homes has pushed the rate of house price inflation up in these kind of suburban areas. Indeed, house prices in outer prime London climbed 9% during 2014, compared to a 4.3% annual increase in prime central areas. Balham is favoured by first time buyers and young families and the growth in this area was followed by Brook Green where property values are now 19% higher than a year ago. In contrast, average prices in exclusive prime central enclaves of Kensington and Holland Park have grown 8% in the past 12 months. ‘The prestigious prime property bastions of Kensington, Chelsea and Holland Park will always command worldwide appeal from buyers, however, everyday demand for more affordable homes has catapulted Balham and other outer prime corners of the capital onto the map,’ said Peter Rollings, chief executive officer of Marsh & Parsons. ‘Londoners are increasingly willing to compromise on a central location in return for more living space and manageable price tags, and as a result the price growth seen in these green village suburbs has overtaken the Goliaths of London property this year,’ he added. So, a breakdown of the figures show that throughout prime London prices now average £1,572,342, up 6.4% year on year but down 1.6% month on month. In prime central London they are £2,199,531, up 4.3% annually but down 2.1% month on month. And in outer prime London average prices are £1,180,348, up 9% year on year but down 1.1% month on month. However, the majority of this house price growth occurred in the first half of 2014, and in the last three months, prime London property values declined 1.6%. This is the first quarterly price drop witnessed for three and a half years, as the market corrects after remarkable growth seen throughout the first half of 2014 . A 26% uplift in the supply of prime London properties… Continue reading
UK buyers less concerned about interest rates, survey suggests
The drop in inflation in the UK to 0.5% in December 2014 has corresponded with a steep drop in the proportion of consumers viewing interest rates as one of the main barriers to buying a property, it is claimed. According to the latest Halifax Housing Market Confidence Tracker index over the last 12 months, the proportion of consumers citing concern about rises in interest rates as a barrier to buying property rise steadily from 14% in the fourth quarter of 2013 to 19% in the third quarter of 2014, the highest since the Tracker began at 22%. However, this fell back to 13% in the fourth quarter of 2014, the lowest level in over a year, at the same time as inflation began to fall sharply in the last few months of the year. ‘Speculation over a potential rate rise was high on the news agenda at certain times in 2014 and the Housing Market Confidence Tracker showed consumers becoming increasingly anxious about interest rate rises,’ said Martin Ellis, housing economist at the Halifax. ‘But with inflation falling sharply in the last few months it’s taken away some of risk of an imminent rise and worries have fallen accordingly. While a rate rise will happen eventually, lenders take this into account as part of our affordability checks in the mortgage application process. Going forward the key factor in how they adjust to any changes in rates will be the way in which borrowers manage their disposable income,’ he explained. It is not only interest rates that consumers perceive as being a barrier to buying a property. The largest single barrier is perceived to be the ability to raise a deposit, cited by 61% in the fourth quarter of 2014. However, in the last few years there have been a number of schemes launched specifically aimed at supporting borrowers with smaller deposits such as the Help to Buy scheme, which has loaned buyers deposits and guaranteed loans. ‘Mortgage affordability has improved significantly in recent years with record low mortgage rates a major contributor behind this improvement. Figures from the 2014 Halifax First Time Buyer annual review show that the number of first time buyers is at its highest level since 2007 and last year the number of first-time buyers increased by 22%. This was the third successive annual increase with a 50% rise in the past two years,’ Ellis pointed out. Continue reading
