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Empty home scheme in Scotland has funding doubled
A scheme to tackle Scotland’s empty homes has had its funding doubled, the nation’s Housing Minister Margaret Burgess has announced. The Scottish Empty Homes Partnership (SEHP) will receive a three year extension backed by an additional £616,500 from the Scottish Government. SEHP, which is run by the housing charity, Shelter Scotland helps councils and their partners pursue work to bring private sector empty homes back into use. Overall, the number of unoccupied properties is falling. Currently, 31,457 homes are recorded as being empty for six months or more. Shelter Scotland will use the extra funding to recruit additional staff to support the Partnership and allow up to an additional 12 councils to participate in the Shared Empty Homes Officer programme. By the end of year three, up to 28 councils in Scotland could have had access to an empty homes officer and approximately 1,200 empty homes per year could be returned to use. ‘Empty homes are a blight on both urban and rural communities across Scotland. Bringing empty homes back into use is a cost effective way of increasing the supply of housing available to families across Scotland and it also aids community regeneration,’ said Burgess. ‘That is why the Scottish Government is not only providing a three year extension to the Empty Homes Partnership, but is also doubling its funding. Empty Homes Officers will report over 500 homes being brought back into use in 2014/2015, this compares with the 278 being brought back into use in 2013/2014,’ she explained. ‘There is still a long way to go but increasingly, local authorities across the country are embracing the work of the partnership. Clearly, the network of Empty Homes Officers is having a positive effect,’ she added. Graeme Brown, director of Shelter Scotland, described the move as great news. ‘The progress we have made supporting councils and their partners over the last four years to bring hundreds of empty homes back into use is testament to the hard work and commitment of everyone involved,’ he said. ‘Expanding the partnership and putting it on a longer term footing will allow us to do even more to bring private empty homes back into use. Our goal is to see a fully effective empty homes service in each local authority and to bring back as many of Scotland’s long-term empty homes as we can,’ he added. Continue reading
UK buyers and sellers concerned about property prices, research suggests
Both buyers and sellers in the UK are concerned about the price of property with 86% of buyers feeling it deters them and 91% worried about selling up. Some 40% of sellers stated that getting the best price for their property was their primary concern and an equal percentage of buyers listed house prices as a major deterrent to buying, according to research by online estate agent eMoov.co.uk. The over 50's lead the way as those most concerned about securing a good price for their property. With retirement potentially on the horizon, 40% of them listed getting the best price as their primary fear. This is in contrast to those looking to buy, as 43% of those aged 18 to 24 were most fearful of the price they would have to pay for their property. With London property costing double the national average, over 40% of people living in the capital feared property price tags, however Norwich was the surprise top of the bunch with over half of buyers surveyed worried about price. Southampton held the biggest fear factor for buyers searching for a new property with 42% of them stating that finding their next dream home was a concern. With interest rates currently as low as they can get and a rise inevitable next year some 19% of buyers considered this something to fear when looking to buy a property. The majority of these were under the age of 44, most likely as a result of larger mortgages and less equity in comparison to the older property buyers. Estate agency costs were the third biggest concern with 27% of sellers worried about it. This was most prevalent for those 35 and over. Finding the right mortgage concerned 29% of those aged 18 to 24, the highest of all the age brackets surveyed. Some 16% of those aged 25 to 34 also cited finding the right mortgage as a worry. ‘Buying or selling a property can be scary business for some. It can be a minefield of problems from start to finish and it's no surprise it strikes fear into the hearts of those involved,’ said Russell Quirk, the firm’s chief executive officer. ‘It won't come as a shock to anyone that house prices top the survey, they are what drive the market and unfortunately for the majority dictate the options open to them. It comes down to the age old game of cat and mouse, buyers worry about finding the lowest price, sellers are fearful about selling under value,’ he said. ‘It is interesting to see just 6% of people worry themselves silly over which estate agent they are going to use but 27% are put off by the actual cost of estate agency fees. This reflects a significant change in consumer behaviour over recent years and the importance put on ensuring value from an estate agent, something that the mainstream, high street agent simply does not provide,’ he added. Continue reading
UK stamp duty changes set to boost house building
A leading UK builder has announced that the recent reforms to the Stamp Duty property tax has given it the confidence to bring forward the next phase of a major development. While the stamp duty reform has been widely hailed as a boost for first time buyers trying to get on the housing market the announcement from Crest Nicholson shows it is also going to boost house building. The house builder said it will bring forward the next phase of development at Centenary Quay in Southampton and build 280 new homes, some 128 of them in the next year. New analysis by the company revealed that the reforms will save buyers in Southampton over £1,660 per transaction and increase demand for new homes. In addition, since 2013 some 44% of sales at Centenary Quay were made through the government’s Help to Buy scheme and a further 101 apartments were sold for Build to Rent. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, who announced the stamp duty changes in his autumn statement earlier this month, described it as great news. ‘Not only are Crest Nicholson building more homes quicker but buyers will also see real cash saving when they purchase a house,’ he explained. ‘Stamp duty was one of the worst designed taxes and acted as a real brake on aspiration for those who wanted to get on or move up the housing ladder. As part of our long term economic plan we have made the system fairer so people only pay tax on the part of the property that falls within each band. The average property will pay £4,500 less stamp duty, with 98% of people who buy a home benefiting from the reform,’ he added. Debbie Aplin, managing director of Crest Nicholson Regeneration, said the reforms will undoubtedly boost activity in the housing market, re-stimulating building rates and enable the firm to drive the rate of sales back to pre-recessionary levels. ‘Last year alone we were able to facilitate 571 new home purchases through government backed incentive schemes such as Help to Buy, and now with the addition of stamp duty reform we remain committed to our target of building in excess of 3,000 new homes in the UK in 2015,’ she pointed out. ‘This will in turn support further job creation and have a positive overall impact on the entire economy. Most importantly though, the impact of changes to stamp duty will remove a lot of uncertainty for consumers over the coming months, helping to solve the affordability challenge so many purchasers are facing,’ she explained. ‘This is particularly true for first time buyers struggling to get on the housing ladder. A massive 72% of our purchasers benefiting from Help to Buy were first time buyers, and we hope to see a similar impact from stamp duty reforms,’ she added. The Home Builders Federation has campaigned for the abolition of the stamp duty slab system that caused distortions in the market, penalised buyers… Continue reading
