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UK mortgage activity improved in second quarter of 2015, CML data shows
The London property market saw increased mortgage lending in the second quarter of 2015 but levels were still down compared to the same quarter last year. The latest quarterly data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders shows that home owner house purchase activity in Greater London came out of the traditional seasonal dip to show growth in the second quarter by volume and value. First time buyer activity saw similar trends with an increase in levels on the first quarter of the year, but this sector was also down on the same quarter last year. Unlike house purchase activity, remortgage lending had quarter on quarter and year on year growth in both volume and value. ‘As in the UK overall, the London market came out of the usual seasonal dip in the first few months of the year and saw increased activity but volumes are still on the same period last year,’ said Paul Smee, director general of the CML. ‘Remortgage activity has shown quarterly and year on year growth after a period of stagnation. Borrowers appear to be taking advantage of competitive mortgage rates, ahead of a potential future interest rate rise,’ he added. In Wales house purchase activity saw large quarter on quarter increases compared to the first quarter of the year, but a slight decline in volume of loans compared to the second quarter in 2014. First time buyers increased significantly from the first quarter, but decreased in amount borrowed and number of loans compared to the second quarter of 2014. Home movers went up in volume and value quarter on quarter, and while number of loans remained unchanged year on year the amount borrowed by home movers increased. The data also shows that remortgage activity increased compared to the first quarter and on the same quarter last year. ‘House purchase activity appears to have woken up in Wales after traditionally slower levels in the winter months,’ said Julie-Ann Haines, CML chair for Wales. ‘The uptick in remortgage is, in particular, striking as levels had remained relatively identical over the previous four quarters. With the current low rates of interest unlikely to continue, it seems that borrowers are now taking advantage of competitive mortgage rates before a rise,’ she added. Continue reading
Rents in Scotland show no rise, latest index shows
Residential rents in Scotland have begun to plateau as growth cools off in urban centres but are still at an all-time record high of £549 per month. In July there was no change in the average rent and there has been a down turn in annual growth, according to the latest buy to let index from lettings agent network Your Move. Scottish rents are now 2.8% higher than a year ago, however this slowed from 3.1% in the year to June, after a prolonged period of accelerating rent rises in the first half of the year. ‘We reached a tipping point in July. Rents in Scotland have been building to a crescendo so far in 2015, and rent rises have been quickening their step. But now we’ve reached a mid-point in the year, the rental market has clearly paused for breath,’ said Brian Moran, lettings director at Your Move Scotland. ‘Tenants will be relieved for now, but only time will tell whether we’ve reached a fork in the road for the private rented sector, or whether rent growth will start to ramp up again as autumn approaches, and the age old disparity between available homes and those looking to rent rears its head again,’ he pointed out. He explained that the record rents are not necessarily found in areas where they would expect to be. ‘With the severe squeeze on housing in the cities, households are casting their nets much more widely for places to live, which is driving somewhat of a renaissance in the more affordable areas of Scotland. And rental prices are holding up a mirror to this nationwide demand for homes,’ said Moran. A regional breakdown of the figures show that rents are higher than a year ago across the country while they are at an all-time high in the East, the Highlands and Islands and the South of Scotland. The average monthly rent in the Highlands and Islands has increased at the fastest rate over the past year, up 5.4% since July 2014 to reach a record £568 per month. Compared to a year ago, the East of Scotland has witnessed a 3.8% rise, bringing the average monthly rent to a historic peak of £531. Rents in the South, while still the cheapest location in Scotland to rent, now stand at £513 per month on average, after a 2.7% rise year on year. But rent growth in Scotland’s foremost urban centres appears to be on a cooler trajectory. In Edinburgh and the Lothians the typical monthly rent is now 1.8% higher than in July 2015, while Glasgow and Clyde has witnessed a 1.7% yearly climb in rental prices. Average rents in both these regions are below past peaks. On a monthly basis, rents have increased across four of the five regions of Scotland, one fewer than last month. The only region to experience a fall in rents during July was Glasgow and Clyde, where average rents dropped 1.5% during the… Continue reading
Auctions set to continue as popular means of selling a home in Australia
While housing market conditions remain strong in Australian cities, particularly in Sydney and Melbourne, auctions will continue to be a popular way of selling a residential property, new research suggests. Over the past financial year some 25.6% of all properties advertised for sale were taken to auction across Australia’s capital cities, with Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra showing more than one third of all listings being taken to auction, according to data from real estate firm CoreLogic. There were approximately 380,000 dwellings advertised for sale across Australia’s capital cities over the 2014/2015 financial year, of which roughly 84,000 or 26% were advertised as auction sales. The proportion of auction sales has broadly been rising since the 2008/2009 financial year when auctions comprised a much lower 16% of all dwellings listed for sale. According to CoreLogic RP Data research director Tim Lawless, the rise in the proportion of residential properties taken to auction should come as no surprise, considering how hot housing market conditions are in the auction centric cities of Melbourne and Sydney. ‘When market demand is high and buyers are highly competitive, the auction process is likely to provide the best possible price on a property transaction. The opposite is true when housing market conditions are weak, auctions aren’t as popular due to fact that there is less urgency amongst buyers and the competitive bidding environment isn’t likely to be as conducive to finding the best possible price on a home,’ he said. ‘Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra have a well-established auction culture with this sale method well accepted by vendors and buyers. The other capital cities still list the vast majority of homes for sale via private treaty,’ he added. The data confirms that across the capital cities, Melbourne is still the city where auctions are the most popular method of selling a home. Some 39% of all Melbourne's residential property listings over the past financial year were taken to auction, with Sydney and Canberra not far behind at 38% and 36% respectively. However, an examination of the proportion of listings taken to auction across product types, Canberra and Sydney are both showing a larger proportion of auction listings for houses than Melbourne. The remaining capital cities are all showing auctions to be a far less popular method for selling a home. Some 16% of Adelaide listings were taken to auction over the past financial year, while 11% were taken to auction in Brisbane and Darwin and less than 5% of listings in Perth and Hobart were auctions. It is generally the more expensive or unique dwellings in these cities that are taken to auction. ‘With auction clearance rates remaining in the high 70% range across Sydney and Melbourne, as well as values continuing to show a strong rate of appreciation, we can expect the high proportion of auction listings to remain in these cities,’ Lawless explained. Looking across the suburbs, there were five suburbs, all in Sydney, where more than 95% of… Continue reading
