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England and Wales property prices up 0.4% month on month
Property prices in England and Wales increased by 0.4% in November month on month and are up 5.6% year on year, according to the latest official data from the Land Registry. This take the average property price to £186,325 but there is considerable variations on both prices and price growth across the regions. London experienced the greatest increase in its average property value over the last 12 months with a rise of 11.2% and the greatest monthly growth with an increase of 1.6%, taking the average price to £506,724. Both Yorkshire and The Humber and the North East saw the lowest annual price growth with increases of 1.3% while Yorkshire and The Humber also saw the most significant monthly price fall with a decrease of 0.9%. The South East saw prices rise 0.4% month on month and 8% year on year to £258,137, while the East of England recorded a monthly rise of 1% and annual rise of 9.8% to £214,491. Average prices are lowest in the North East at £100,046 with a monthly and annual rise of 1.3% while it is £115,491 in the North West which saw prices flat month on month and up 3.1% year on year. Three regions saw monthly falls, down 0.3% in the West Midlands, down 0.7% in the East Midlands and down 0.9% in Yorkshire and the Humber, but prices are still up 2.9%, 4.1% and 1.3% year on year respectively. The Land Registry data also shows that the number of completed house sales in England and Wales during September 2015, the most up to date figures available, decreased by 8% to 72,397 compared with 78,877 in in September 2014. The number of properties sold in England and Wales for over £1 million increased by 1% to 1,273 from 1,265 a year earlier. Repossessions in England and Wales decreased by 45% to 406 compared with 733 in September 2014 and the region with the greatest fall in the number of repossession sales was the East with a decrease of 64% from September 2014. While average prices continue to rise in London it is emerging locations that are now overtaking traditional areas like Kensington and Chelsea, according to one agent in the city. ‘We are now seeing emerging districts consistently overtake traditional prime areas like Kensington and Chelsea, which are actually seeing prices fall,’ said Carl Schmid, owner of estate agency Fyfe Mcdade, which has offices in Shoreditch, Islington, Bloomsbury and Waterloo. ‘Buyers are increasingly seeking to make their money go further in areas like Tower Hamlets, Hackney, Lambeth and Southwark, attracted by relative value for money, improving transport connections and capital growth potential, which has already been squeezed out of prime central London,’ he added. According to Jonathan Hopper, managing director of the buying agents Garrington Property Finders, there are some encouraging signs though that the £1 million plus market is emerging from the slump triggered by last year's rise in Stamp Duty. 'Supply of these more expensive homes slowed… Continue reading
UK home values rose almost £1.4 billion per day in 2015
The UK’s 28.6 million homes grew in value by almost £1.4 billion per day in 2015 with Brentford, West Drayton and Thame seeing the largest increases, new research shows. Brentford in London saw prices increase by 24% and West Drayton and Thame both by 17%, according to the data from property website Zoopla, while Wales saw the lowest prices gains at 2.2% over the last 12 months. The figures show that homes are now worth a combined £7.76 trillion with the total value of residential properties up by 7.2% or £519 billion in 2015. This means that the average British property is now worth £290,827. Home owners in London have seen the highest price growth in 2015 of any region, with an 11.8% annual uplift. The East of England follows closely with an 11.6% rise, up from 9.6% during 2014. However, property owners in Wales and Scotland saw the lowest growth in house prices in the last 12 months, with values rising just 2.2% and 2.7% respectively. London, Edinburgh, and Bristol were the top three most searched for locations by British house hunters on Zoopla in 2015. Northern areas also performed well, with Glasgow rising in the rankings, moving from sixth place in 2014 to fourth place this year, while Leeds broke into the top 10, coming in eighth. Amongst the most popular keyword searches over the past year were ‘bungalow’, ‘cottage’ and ‘village’, with aspirational property also searchers for homes offering a ‘pool’ and a ‘sea view.’ ‘Whilst the property market typically slows at this time of the year, prices have performed well in 2015, with some standout towns such as Brentford faring particularly well. Regions like East Anglia continue to boom as professionals and families seek out properties beyond the London commuter belt,’ said Lawrence Hall of Zoopla. ‘Even regions like Wales, where growth has typically been very incremental, have totalled respectable annual growth rates. Of course, to every silver lining there must be a cloud and the price rises we’re seeing do make it harder for those looking to take their first step onto the ladder,’ he pointed out. ‘But with Government Help to Buy schemes still in place and the promise of new homes to ease demand both buyers and sellers should have at least some reason to be upbeat as we go into 2016,’ he added. Continue reading
Commercial property debt in UK set to fall to 10 year low
Outstanding commercial property debt in the UK is on course to fall to a 10 year low during 2015, declining by 1% in the first half of 2015 to £163.7 billion, according to a new report. However, strong levels of new loan origination in 2015 mean that the total amount outstanding may actually increase for the first time since the recession, the report from academics at De Montfort University also says. The half year edition of the De Montfort Commercial Property Lending Report, the most comprehensive study of the UK’s commercial property lending market, concludes that the continuous decline in total real estate debt since 2008 appears to have almost halted and may subsequently be reversed by the end of the year. The value of new loan originations in the first half of 2015 was £24.7 billion, the highest half year value reported to the research since £49.2 billion recorded for the first half of 2007. In a further sign of commercial property market health, the value of distressed loans fell from £23.2 billion at the end of 2014 to £15.7 billion by the middle of 2015. The report also show that the proportion of loans with a loan to value (LTV) ratio of less than 70% has continued to grow in the first half of 2015, representing 80.5%, or £135.5 billion of outstanding debt of the traditional lenders and allocated to investment projects. Outstanding debt with a LTV ratio of between 71% and 100% fell from 14.3% of the total of £20 billion at the end of 2014 to 12% or £16 billon by the middle of 2015. The first half of the year also showed an encouraging pick-up in development finance, particularly for speculative or partly pre-let projects, where more non-traditional lenders now feel comfortable providing finance against such schemes. At the same time, the research suggests that banking regulation may be having an adverse impact on development finance by the traditional lenders. At the middle of 2015, only 2.8% of debt was allocated to commercial development projects by these lenders. Interest rate margins for senior debt continued their three-year long decline but the pace of decline has moderated considerably. By the middle of 2015, the average margin for senior loans secured by prime office property was recorded at 214bps, down from 218.7bps recorded at the end of 2014. The report suggests that that the floor in interest-rate margins may have been reached. Following a surge in non-traditional lenders in 2014, Banks and Building Societies remained the dominant lenders in the market, holding 76% of all loan originations at the middle year point compared to 75% at the end of 2014. The level of new lending by UK Banks and Building Societies remained stable at 39% of all loan originations. ‘We seem to have reached a turning point in the amount of commercial property debt in the market, with the impact of post-crisis deleveraging almost totally… Continue reading
