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Third of UK properties have seen prices drop since going on sale
A third of properties on the market in the UK currently for sale have been discounted, up from 27% in February and the highest since August 2012 the latest data shows. The highest proportion of asking price reductions are to be found in Yorkshire and Lancashire in Preston, Barnsley, Wakefield, Rotherham, according to the latest research from property firm Zoopla. London is among cities with the fewest price reductions but discounts have doubled since start of year and overall some £3.8 billion has been knocked off UK asking prices, equivalent to £24,429 per property The average price reduction has also grown since the start of the year, with asking price reductions now at 6.7% on average off the initial asking price, equivalent to £24,429, up from 6.3% or £20,781 in February 2014. Preston has the highest proportion of price reductions in the country at 44% of properties having had their asking price lowered since first coming to the market. This is closely followed by the Yorkshire towns of Barnsley, Wakefield and Rotherham all at 43%. However it is not just in the north of England where sellers are resetting their expectations. The largest discounts currently are to be found in affluent Mitcham in south west London where sellers have dropped prices by 9.2% on average, equal to £55,606. The research also shows that sellers in Edinburgh are the most confident of achieving their original asking prices, with only 22% of properties for sale having their prices reduced, the lowest proportion across the country. This is followed by London where only 29% of homes have seen their asking prices lowered from the original price. However, this is almost double the proportion recorded in February 2014 when only 15% saw their asking prices reduced. ‘The property market typically slows in December as buyers postpone their plans until the New Year and become pre-occupied with the festive season, but these figures suggest that sellers may be being forced to rest their expectations and become more realistic in order to secure a buyer. People are well attuned to a bargain at this time of year, so homebuyers may want to capitalise on the latest raft of reductions,’ said Lawrence Hall of Zoopla. ‘The recent Stamp Duty reforms have injected a real feel-good factor into the property market that is likely to last into January when there will be a renewed surge in buyers looking for property. There would usually be an air of uncertainty in the lead up to an election, but the positivity created by the tax overhaul should ensure this isn’t as keenly felt as usual,’ he added. Continue reading
Buyers pay premium of 21% to live within a UK National Park
The price premium for properties within a National Park in the UK has increased from 18% to 21%, new research shows. And the premium for a property within five kilometres of a National Park is 8%, according to the research by the Nationwide Building Society. Around 190,000 households are located within the boundaries of National Parks, and the research suggests that this factor alone attracts a significant price premium. Indeed, a property located within a National Park attracts a 21% price premium over an otherwise identical property. This is around £39,000 in cash terms based on the current average house price of £188,810 and the data also shows that the price premium for being within a National Park has increased slightly from 18% a year ago, when the research was last conducted. Moreover, the premium is not limited entirely to properties located within the boundaries of the National Park. There is also evidence of a ‘fringe benefit’ for properties located just outside the boundaries of National Parks. ‘National Parks are highly desirable areas in which to live thanks to the beautiful countryside. Development is also strictly controlled, with very little in the way of new housing construction, which also helps to explain why prices are relatively high,’ said Robert Gardner, Nationwide's chief economist. The South Downs has overtaken the New Forest as most expensive National Park to buy property within and this is due to stronger price growth over the last year. It is England’s newest National Park, spanning 1,624 square kilometres across Hampshire and Sussex and contains the highest number of households at around 47,000. It includes a number of towns situated in the western Weald, including Petersfield, Liss, Midhurst and Petworth. The Peak District serves the highest number of people, with around 5.9 million living within 25 kilometres of its boundary. Its central location makes it accessible from major population centres such as Derby, Sheffield and Manchester. It is also a desirable place to live and average prices within the park have increased by 11% over the past year. The Cairngorms in Scotland is the largest National Park by land area, but is located within a very sparsely populated part of Scotland. Loch Lomond and the Trossachs are closest to major cities such as Glasgow and Edinburgh, with 1.1 million people within 25 kilometres. National Parks cover 20% of the land area in Wales, the highest proportion of the home nations. The largest of these is Snowdonia, covering 2,176 square kilometres. Snowdonia remains the least expensive National Park to live within, although did see the strongest growth over the last year. Continue reading
Property sales unchanged in Canada in November and prices steady
Residential property sales in Canada were unchanged in November compared with the previous month and are 2.7% above a year ago, according to the latest data. But activity is much improved compared to the quiet start to the year and November sales strengthened in half of all local housing markets, the index from the Canadian Association of Realtors shows. The index also shows that price gains have held steady between 5% and 5.5% since the beginning of the year. However, year on year price growth decelerated among all property types tracked by the index in November compared to October. There were monthly sales increases in Montreal, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Hamilton-Burlington, Barrie, and Windsor-Essex but a monthly decline in the Greater Toronto Area. And sales were up from year ago levels in about half all local markets, led by Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, Calgary, and Greater Toronto. Two storey single family homes continue to post the biggest year on year price gains with growth of 6.79%, followed by town houses at 5.63%. Price growth was comparatively more modest for one storey single family homes at 4.2% and apartments were up 3.18%. Price growth varied among housing markets tracked by the index. In Calgary prices were up 8.53%, in Greater Toronto they increased by 7.73% and Greater Vancouver was up 5.69%. These areas have continued to post the biggest year on year increases. By contrast, prices in Regina declined by 3.36%. Prices were up between 1.6% and 2.8% year on year in the Fraser Valley, Victoria, and Vancouver Island, by less than 1% in Saskatoon and Ottawa, flat in Greater Montreal and down by less than 1% in Greater Moncton. The MLS® Home Price Index provides a better gauge of price trends than is possible using averages because it is not affected by changes in the mix of sales activity the way that average price is. The actual (not seasonally adjusted) national average price for homes sold in November 2014 was $413,649, up 5.7% from the same month last year. The national average home price continues to be raised considerably by sales activity in Greater Vancouver and Greater Toronto, which are among Canada’s most active and expensive housing markets. Excluding these two markets from the calculation, the average price is a relatively more modest $331,743 and the year on year increase shrinks to 5%. ‘The Canadian housing market remains a story about how sales and prices are still running strong in some areas while others are seeing subdued levels of activity with slower price gains or modest price declines,’ said CREA president Beth Crosbie. The data also shows that the number of newly listed homes edged down 0.4% in November compared to October. Led by Greater Toronto, new supply was down in just over half of all local markets. The national sales to new listings ratio was 56%, marginally tighter compared to the previous three months in which it averaged 55.7% but CREA said that the… Continue reading
