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Scotland’s house prices dip after post referendum boost
Residential property prices in Scotland fell 0.1% in November, reversing October’s uplift in the wake of the independence referendum vote, the latest index shows. There was also a slowdown in annual growth to 4.3%, less than half the 10.6% yearly rise across England and Wales, according to the Your Move/Acadata index. It takes the average house price to £164,607 and sales were up 6% annually in November, however the data shows that a quarter of all activity was concentrated in Edinburgh and Glasgow. But prices in Midlothian have seen their highest annual jump, up 10% with this being put down to a 30% leap in local first time buyer sales. According to Christine Campbell, regional managing director of Your Move, the Scottish property market is only just starting to recalibrate after the temporary disruption of the referendum. ‘The immediate feel good factor following the vote led to an artificially upbeat October, but the dust is settling. Average house prices across Scotland dipped as normal business resumed and familiar market trends reappear,’ she explained. The data shows that overall, property values fell in over half of Scotland’s local authority areas in November and it means annual house price growth in Scotland is currently lagging well below the pace being set across England and Wales. ‘However the underlying upwards momentum is robust. Scottish property values have climbed a healthy 4.3% in the year to November, equal to £6,750 on average. In the last 12 months, fourth fifths of the nation’s local authorities have witnessed increases in house values,’ Campbell pointed out. ‘But the overwhelming majority of Scotland is experiencing annual property price growth in excess of inflation. The lion’s share of home owners are enjoying real tangible growth in the value of their home beyond the 1% Consumer Price Index rate of inflation,’ Campbell said. ‘For example, the highest annual leap in values was found in Midlothian, with prices soaring 10%, more than double the wider nationwide average. Here, prices have been driven up by a considerable 30% uplift in sales of flats and terraced properties in the past 12 months. This burst of activity has pushed the typical cost of a flat in the area to £120,000, up from £100,000 a year ago,’ she explained. She also pointed out that while prices may have slipped back on a monthly basis, activity is still making stable progress. ‘This has been the strongest November for sales in seven years, with transactions up 6% on 2013. As first time buyers continue to pour into the market, the most frequently purchased type of property in Scotland are flats, with sales of this type of property growing 9% year on year in the three months to November 2014,’ said Campbell. ‘Argyll and Bute saw the biggest monthly jump in prices, up 5.8% since October, and this was propelled by a 24% annual surge in sales in the three months to November 2014, including a 50% climb in flat transactions…. Continue reading
Property prices in Ireland up over 16% year on year
Residential property prices in Ireland increased by 16.2% year on year in the 12 months to the end of November 2014, the latest official figures show. This compares with an increase of 16.3% in October and an increase of 5.6% recorded in the 12 months to November 2013, according to the data from the Central Statistics Office. But growth could be slowing slightly as prices rose by 0.5% in the month of November compared with an increase of 2.9% recorded in October and an increase of 0.6% recorded in November of last year. In Dublin residential property prices fell by 0.1% in November and were 22.4% higher than a year ago. Dublin house prices fell by 0.1% in the month and were 22.2% higher compared to a year earlier. Dublin apartment prices were 26.8% higher when compared with the same month of 2013. However, a CSO spokesman said it should be noted that the sub-indices for apartments are based on low volumes of observed transactions and consequently suffer from greater volatility than other series. The price of residential properties in the rest of Ireland rose by 1.2% in November compared with no change in November of last year. Prices were 9.6% higher than in November 2013. Despite the recovery house prices in Dublin are still 35.8% lower than at their highest level in early 2007. Apartments in Dublin are 44.3% lower than they were in February 2007 while house price in the city are 37.8% lower than at their highest level in February 2007. The price of residential properties in the rest of Ireland is 41.8% lower than their highest level in September 2007. Overall, the national index is 37.9% lower than its highest level in 2007. Continue reading
Total value of UK homes now stands at £5.75 trillion, new research shows
The total value of homes across the UK now stands at £5.75 trillion, an increase of £543 billion in one year and £966 billion in five years, new research shows. London and the South East account for a growing share of the total, with a combined value of over £2.5 trillion, with average values per property now at £428,988 and £282,168 respectively. Five year total value growth has been seen in all regions with the exception of the North West and North East and Northern Ireland, the detailed analysis of the nation’s housing stock from real estate firm Savills also shows. The firm includes all tenures in its valuation and has found that the total value of owner occupied stock reached £3.9 trillion in 2014 split broadly evenly between that subject to a mortgage and that owned outright. Owner occupied homes remain the dominant tenure, accounting for almost 15 million households and the number of homes owned without a mortgage rose 437,471 in the past five years, to over 8.3 million, with values rising £325 billion to almost £2 trillion. By contrast, as a result of the credit crunch and subsequent constraints on mortgage lending, homes owned with a mortgage have fallen by almost 800,000 over the past five years. For similar reasons, the total value of stock in the private rented sector has passed the £1 trillion mark, having risen in value by 17% in one year, 57% in five years. The total number of private rented homes has risen by almost 1.2 million since 2009, taking the total to over 5.4 million, compared to 4.7 million in the social rented sector. The value of housing stock in London stands at £1.485 trillion, an increase of 20% or £247 billion in one year and 61% in the past five years. Continue reading
