Tag Archives: yahoo
Prime country house values in UK fall in second quarter of year
Average prime country house values in the UK increased by just 0.9% between April and June and annual growth is down to 2.3%, the lowest for two years, according to a new analysis report. It is an indication that any expectations of a post-election price jump in the prime market were unfounded, says the report from real estate firm Knight Frank. The report points out that one of the key reasons price growth remains subdued, despite the election of a majority government and the removal of the threat of a mansion tax, is the fact that the prime market is still absorbing the recent changes to stamp duty. The change, which came into effect in December, has resulted in higher purchase costs for properties worth more than £1.1 million. Knight Frank says there is anecdotal evidence to suggest that some buyers are factoring the increased cost into offers, resulting in some price adjustments. ‘Additionally, while there was a release of pent-up demand in the weeks immediately following the vote as buyers who had adopted a wait and see approach prior to the election returned to the market, rising stock levels, which peaked to their highest level all year in May, helped to mitigate any significant jump in property values,’ said Oliver Knight of the firm’s residential research team. He also pointed out that the greater political certainty afforded by the election result means there is a more positive outlook for the residential property market as a whole. ‘Interest rates remain at record low levels, economic growth is steady and mortgage rates are competitive,’ he added. Meanwhile, during the second quarter of the year prime city markets continued to outperform more rural locations, with notable price growth in Bath, Bristol and Winchester among others. Prime urban property markets are now, on average, 2% above their 2007 peak, while neighbouring village and rural locations remain 13.2% below peak levels. Continue reading
Average property prices still falling in Spain, but sales are up
Although the recovering in housing sales in Spain continues with transactions up by 1.9% in April, prices are still falling, the latest figures show. The data from the General Council of Notaires shows sales up almost 2% in April but prices down by 3.9% year on year nationally. Overall a total of 30,758 transactions were completed which the council says ‘reflects the stabilisation in monthly sales’. The average price of homes bought in April was €1,188 per square meter with new homes, the data also shows and the number of mortgages available is rising, up 12.3% year on year. Buyers are also able to get higher loans with the average mortgage sixe up 9.2% to €122,119. Meanwhile, the average Spanish home costs €200,000, according to the annual Spanish housing market report from appraisal firm Euroval. But there are considerable regional variations in values. In Barcelona, for example some 54% of homes for sale are offered at less than €254,000, whilst in Madrid 61% of homes for sale cost less than €247,000. While in cities like Alicante, on the Costa Blanca, 58% of homes have a price below €143,000. The Euroval report also looks at what has been happening in the Spanish property market in the last couple of years and shows that sales increased by 21.63% between 2013 and 2014. It also shows a decrease in the number of new homes being sold and the largest numbers of transactions are still taking place in Andalusia, which represents 19.2% of the total volume. When it comes to valuation activity, the firm reports an 11.5% increase in 2014 over the previous year, after eight consecutive years of declines. But this is just 30% of the volume of appraisals which were carried out in 2005. Continue reading
UK prices down 0.2% in June, market sees smallest annual growth since 2013
UK house prices fell by 0.2% in June which meant that annual house price growth moderated to 3.3% from 4.6% in May, according to the latest index report. This takes the average price of a home to £194,258, according to the monthly index from lender Nationwide. The data also shows that in the second quarter prices increased by 1% and are up 4.1% compared to the same quarter in 2014. Eleven of the thirteen UK regions covered in the index saw a slowdown in the annual rate of growth in the second quarter of the year and it is the smallest annual rate of increase for two years. However, most parts of the country continued to see annual house price gains apart from Wales and Scotland which recorded small declines. The North remained static while Northern Ireland and London have the highest annual growth. Indeed, Northern Ireland overtook London to become the strongest performing region, with average prices up 8% year on year but prices remain around 45% below their 2007 peak. London saw a further softening in annual price growth to 7.3%, compared with 12.7% in the first quarter of the year. The Outer Metropolitan area followed closely behind, with annual price growth of 6.8%. The North was the weakest performing English region, with prices essentially unchanged compared with the same period a year ago. Wales saw a 0.8% year on year fall in average prices, similar to the previous quarter while Scotland was weakest performing region with a 1% fall in prices. ‘This maintains the gradual downward trend that has been in evidence since the middle of 2014,’ said Robert Gardner, Nationwide's chief economist, but he added that house price growth continues to outpace earnings. He also pointed out that the slowdown in house price growth is not confined to, nor does it appear to be driven primarily by, developments in London. In quarter on quarter terms, London has continued to see price growth at or above the rate in the UK overall over the past three quarters, while the annual rate of price growth in the capital remains the second highest in the country. He believes that given the gap between population growth and rates of house building, housing stock is likely to be used increasingly intensively until building activity catches up. ‘There are signs that this has been occurring, with the number of vacant properties trending down since 2008, though council tax changes in 2013 impacted reporting and probably overstate the decline in the last two years,’ Gardner explained. He added that the strong relationship between supply constraints and vacancy rates is clearly visible at the regional level. ‘As you might expect, regions where affordability is more stretched see far fewer vacancies. For example, in London, the UK region where affordability is most stretched, only 1.7% of the housing stock was vacant in 2014, around half the 3.5% rate prevailing in the North of England,’ said Gardner. ‘Given… Continue reading
