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Average house prices in British seaside towns up by a third since 2005
House prices have increased, on average, by a third across British seaside towns over the past decade, according to the latest research. Prices are up by 31% or £49,207, equivalent to £410 per month, from £159,522 to £208,729, the data from UK lender the Halifax shows. However, there is a marked north/south divide in property values in seaside towns, with all 10 of the most expensive seaside towns in southern England, and seven in the south west alone. Salcombe at £672,874 in Devon and Sandbanks at £614,726 in Dorset are the two most expensive seaside towns in Great Britain and both are in the south west. Outside this region the most expensive seaside towns are Aldeburgh on the Suffolk coast with an average price of £413,393, Lymington in the New Forest at £404,781 and East Wittering in West Sussex at £330,146. Outside southern England, the most expensive seaside areas are the Scottish towns of St. Andrews at £294,586, North Berwick at £294,076 and Stonehaven at £243,741 while in Wales the most expensive is the Mumbles at £271,349. The biggest house price rises in the average price of seaside towns over the past decade were all recorded in Scotland. Fraserburgh in Aberdeenshire recorded the largest rise, with a 109% increase in property values from £63,540 in 2005 to £132,920 in 2015. Lerwick in the Shetlands and Peterhead in Aberdeenshire saw the next largest rises both 102%. A further 15 coastal towns out of a total of 59 surveyed have recorded price increases of at least 50% since 2005. Partly due to the substantial rises in the top performing towns, the average house price in Scotland's seaside towns rose by 38% between 2005 and 2014, exceeding the 31% increase for Great Britain as a whole. Newtonhill saw the largest house price increase over the last year, going from £199,902 in 2013 to £240,899 in 2014, a rise of 21%, followed by Dalgety Bay at 16% and Macduff at 15%. The research also shows an east/west divide in house prices in Scottish seaside towns, with nine of the 10 most expensive seaside towns being located on the eastern coastline while all of the 10 least expensive seaside towns are in western Scotland. Port Bannantyne is the most inexpensive in Scotland with an average price of £73,539. Outside Scotland, the biggest increase in average prices during the last 10 years was recorded in Salcombe with growth of 69%, followed by Workington in Cumbria up 60% and Brighton up 58%. House prices have continued to increase in several seaside towns over the past year. Newtonhill in Aberdeenshire and Shoreham by the Sea recorded the largest average price growth in the last 12 months, with increases of 20%, four times the average increase for all seaside towns in the past year which was 5%. The next biggest price rises were in Sandwich in Kent and Watchet in Somerset, both with year on year growth of 18%, followed by Seaton on the… Continue reading
Rents overtake home values in the US, latest index shows
Residential rents in the United States grew 4% year on year in April, overtaking home values growth which was at an annual rate of 3%, the latest data shows. It means that rents grew at their fastest pace in two years in April, and surpassed home value growth in 20 of the 35 largest US housing markets, according to the data from real estate market report firm Zillow. Rents reached $1,364 and home values reached an average of $178,400 and growth in home values is expected to slow further in the second half of the year as the for sale housing market stabilises. The switch comes after years of rapid home value increases and has been boosted by the improving economy. The Zillow report points out that US home values peaked in 2007, and then crashed during the recession between 2008 and 2010. Since then, they have risen rapidly, returning to their peak levels in many markets. Home values have both risen and fallen over the past decade, but rents have been steadily rising. Indeed, rental growth has been outpacing home value growth for several months in some of the nation's hottest markets. In San Francisco, rents started rising faster than home values in July 2014, and have been growing faster ever since on an annual basis. In Boston, annual rental growth has outpaced home value appreciation since August 2014. The report points out that low mortgage rates have helped make buying a home much more affordable than renting. On average, US home buyers can expect to spend about 15.3% of their income each month on a typical house payment. Renters can expect to spend about 30% on a monthly rent payment. ‘There are tremendous incentives to get into home ownership these days: mortgage access is improving, interest rates are low, and home values remain below prior peaks,’ said Zillow chief economist Stan Humphries. ‘But it will be increasingly difficult for many renters to realize these benefits as this country's growing rental affordability crisis continues to worsen. More income going to rent means less going to savings for a down payment and other costs, keeping renters renting longer and feeding into the high demand that is contributing to rising rents in the first place,’ he explained. ‘This cycle will be difficult to break, and is a symptom of the imbalances that still exist in the housing market as we struggle to get back to normal. New construction and rising wages will help, but neither is coming very quickly,’ he added. Over the next year, home value growth is expected to slow even further, to 2% annually, according to the Zillow home value forecast. In 2014, home values rose 4.9%. Continue reading
New proposals for UK landlords welcomed by the industry
The UK’s National Landlords Association has welcomed new government proposals on immigration that will affect the country’s residential private rented sector. Prime Minister David Cameron announced a number of proposals to be tabled in a new immigration bill which will be a central part of the new Government programme to be announced in the Queen’s speech, next week. They include new powers for councils to crack down on unscrupulous landlords, allowing landlords to evict illegal migrants more quickly and a nationwide Right to Rent scheme. The announcement also includes a new mandatory licensing regime and there will be a consultation on cancelling tenancies when visas expire. ‘We welcome the initiative taken by government to tackle the problem of criminals acting as private landlords to exploit illegal migrants,’ said Richard Lambert, NLA chief executive officer. But he pointed out that it important that councils are given the necessary funding to ensure that they can enforce these powers effectively. ‘This would help drive up standards in the sector and send a powerful message to criminals. One of the fundamental reasons that a minority of criminal landlords are able to get away with providing poor living conditions is that councils do not have the resources to make use of their already significant powers,’ Lambert explained. ‘We would like to see the Treasury allow councils to keep the proceeds of the fines from prosecutions so that councils have both the powers and finances for enforcement, without going cap in hand to the Treasury,’ he added. The NLA is also pleased that the government has given landlords the ability to deal quickly with illegal migrants and Lambert said he hopes this deters those that want to stay in the UK illegally. ‘We are, however, a little concerned regarding the Right to Rent scheme. Landlords are happy to help to check that tenants are who they claim to be. However this should not be a way for the Government to pass the buck on to landlords when tacking illegal immigration,’ Lambert said. ‘We hope, before the scheme is rolled out nationally, that the Government take the time to review how the first phase in the West Midlands has worked and draws on the lessons from that, rather than ploughing ahead regardless,’ he added. He also said that the introduction of a new mandatory licensing regime also raises concerns. ‘We are therefore urgently seeking clarification on whether this would be new policy or related to the current licensing schemes,’ said Lambert. Continue reading
