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Demand for UK property down 8% since February, new data shows
Demand for homes in the UK has dropped by 8% since February with London seeing an even bigger fall of 28%, according to the latest property hotspots index review. It also shows that within London the borough of Westminster has suffered the most from the real estate slowdown with demand down 42% while Glasgow has seen the greatest increase in demand. The index from online estate agent eMoov monitors the change in supply and demand for the most populated locations across the UK, by monitoring the total number of properties sold in comparison to those on sale. Another area in London where demand is falling is the Olympic Village in Stratford where demand in the four London Boroughs that straddle the development have fallen steadily. Hackney has seen demand fall by 36%, Tower Hamlets and Newham dropped by 35% and 33% respectively and in Waltham Forest it is down 24%. But it’s not all doom and gloom for the South East, the London Borough of Bexley came out top with a 71% demand for property while at 67% Reading has had the second highest demand for property of all UK Hotspots, with Brentwood and Hillingdon also placing in the top 10 with a 60% demand for property. The firm suggests that this highlights the change the proposed Cross Rail development is having on towns due to benefit from its extension, as the commute to London will become significantly easier as a result. Sutton at 65%, Watford at 64%, Guildford at 63% and Medway at 56% also made the top 10 as commuter friendly towns close to the capital. Elsewhere around the country Bristol was at number six but demand for property in the West Country city has still fallen by 3% since February. Brighton also made the top 10 with demand for property at 62%. Demand for property in Scotland as a whole is up by 5% since February and the capital Edinburgh came 49th out of Britain’s hot spots, the highest of the Scottish entries. It was however Glasgow that has witnessed the most drastic turn around, demand in Scotland’s second city rose by a total of 28% since February, the biggest change across the whole of Britain. Demand for property in Hull has risen 26% over the year closely followed by Doncaster and Bradford at 25%. Even Liverpool has enjoyed an increase of 9% in demand however not all of the major players from the North have enjoyed the same success. Demand in Leeds has dropped by 5% since February, Newcastle has dropped by 8% and demand in Manchester fell by 14%. In the East Midlands Derby come out on top with demand up by 3% in comparison to its rivals. At 36% it placed 43rd in the table, 10 places higher than Nottingham and 12 places higher than Leicester. Birmingham has remained almost static in its demand for property throughout the year, however as with London there has… Continue reading
Rent increases likely to be muted in the UK in 2015, it is predicted
Market conditions, combined with the likelihood of interest rate rises and uncertainty over the general election is likely to result in static or low rental increases in the UK in 2015, it is claimed. Rental rises are likely to be restricted by factors such as continued low disposable income, anticipated interest rate rises and a forecast of economic development in 2015 that is expected to be lower than this year, according to the forecast analysis from Belvoir Lettings. A review of the year shows that rents have not changed much since 2008. When the firm first started tracking rents in March 2008 they were £698 per month, fell to £678 in 2009 and fluctuated around this level until 2014 when they reached £691 per month. ‘On average, after seven years, Belvoir offices that have traded consistently have seen little or no growth in rents, albeit there have been falls and rises during this time. For the Belvoir group however, average rents have risen due to an increase in the number of new offices joining Belvoir in higher rental areas south of the Midlands,’ said Dorian Gonsalves, Belvoir's director of commercial and franchising. Rents for the whole group, including new offices, were £707 per month in 2008, recovering to £715 per month in 2012 and 2013, seeing an annual average of £735 per month year to date, a 4% rise for the group over the last seven years. Regionally, in England, rents vary from £570 in the East Midlands to nearly £1,500 per month in London. The majority of Belvoir offices in Scotland are either seeing rents flat or slightly falling outside of Edinburgh and Aberdeen, with rents ranging from £500 to just over £600. In Wales, rents have been relatively static since offices opened, with average rents varying from just over £500 to £700 per month. Belvoir's research shows that over the last seven years London rents are up around 20%, while the South East is up 7%, West Midlands 6% and Yorkshire up 3%. Rents in the South West are on a par and rents in East Anglia have nearly recovered. In contrast, rents in the East Midlands are still 5% lower while in the North West they are down by 4% versus 2008. Year on year, rents are up in most areas, reflecting the tightening of stock levels versus high demand and better economic performance, which helps tenants to afford to pay more rent. However, areas such as Yorkshire, the North West and East Midlands have seen a fall year on year, suggesting the North/South divide in England is impacting on rental performance. ‘From a sales and property price perspective, this year saw a continued recovery of the property market. However, price rises and recovery were driven largely by activity in the London and the South East, said Gonsalves. ‘After 18 months of rapid growth, the rise in London seems to have… Continue reading
Rapid price growth slowing in many US markets, latest index shows
Rapid property price growth in the US continued to level off in the second half of 2014, but markets hardest hit by the recession are still seeing double digit value growth, the latest data shows. Cumulatively, US homes will be worth $27.5 trillion at the end of 2014, a 6.7% increase overall, according to the latest data from real estate firm Zillow. In November national home values continued to rise at an incrementally slower pace and are up 6% from last year, the third consecutive overall increase. Homes lost $6.1 trillion in value between December 2006 and December 2011. The cumulative increase in home values is slightly smaller than the 8% recorded in 2013 and that kind of gradual slowing is a sign of the times as the market heads for slower expected gains in 2015. Over the second half of 2014 inventory increased in many US markets and, with more homes on the market, home value appreciation slowed. ‘Looking at the total value of the US housing stock proves just how huge and important the housing sector is to the overall economy,’ said Zillow chief economist Stan Humphries. ‘Virtually nowhere else will you see gains of more than a trillion dollars in one year represent only single digit percentages of the total market. As we conclude 2014 and look ahead at 2015 and beyond, housing will play a bigger role in the broader economic recovery,’ he explained. ‘As the job market improves and more households form, more people will search for homes to buy and rent, which will translate into more people buying appliances and home goods and lead to more jobs for home builders and contractors. Housing is well positioned to continue the great strides already made this year,’ he added. Looking ahead, as more homes come on the market, growth in home values is expected to slow to 2.4% in the next 12 months, according to the Zillow Home Value Forecast. There were 11.8% more homes for sale in November 2014 than a year prior, but inventory fell slightly in many major markets from October to November. Among major markets, home values were up the most year on year in Miami with growth of 13.6%, up 12.8% in Atlanta, up 11.9% in Houston, up 11.9% in Orlando and up 11.5% in Las Vegas. Values were higher than last November in almost every major US metro and national rents were up in November from a year ago by 3.4% to $1,342. Continue reading
