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Average new tenancy monthly rental rate in UK almost £1,000, latest index shows
The average rent on a new tenancy in UK cities in the second quarter of the year reached £956 a month or £747 excluding London, according to the latest home rental index. But in London alone it is £1,515 a month, some 10.1% higher than a year ago. The HomeLet rental index also shows that there have been increases in every region compared to a year ago. London is not alone in experiencing double digit rent price growth. While the majority of UK regions saw rent prices increase by less than 10% in the three months to June 2015, both the South East and South West of England saw rent prices rise by 11%. The index report has also analysed the movement of people who privately rent property, to and from the top UK cities by population. These new findings reveal detailed information including where tenants new to the area account for the largest proportion of new rental agreements. In the year to June 2015, the city with the highest percentage of new tenancies being signed by people moving into the area was Wakefield, with 28% of new tenancies being signed by people moving to the city from elsewhere in the UK. It was closely followed by Coventry and Brighton. The figures also show how the movement of tenants has changed since the recession began in 2008 and how prices have changed. Since then average monthly rents have increased by 51% in London, by 25% in Brighton and by 21% in Coventry. The data shows that certain parts of the UK are registering a significant proportion of new tenancies from people moving to the area. In Wakefield and Coventry, for example, more than a quarter of tenancies signed over the past 12 months were taken on by people moving to these cities. These are not necessarily the locations registering the largest quantity of incomers by number; however, they are the cities to which more people are moving as a proportion of new tenancies signed. Some cities have seen significant increases in the proportion of new tenancies being signed by incomers to the area, since the recession. Wakefield and Coventry have seen these figures rise by 7% and 4% respectively since 2007/2008. However, it is Greater London that has seen the largest increase, with 18% of new tenancies signed by people moving in to the capital to rent, compared with 11% in 2007/2008. Movement out of the capital has also reduced since the recession, with the number of new tenancies signed outside of London by people who have left the capital dropping by 5% Since 2007/2008 from 17% to 12%. The index also reveals the UK cities in which tenants are most likely to choose to stay, by analysing the proportion of tenancies being signed by people who have previously lived elsewhere in the same city. It… Continue reading
Property prices up 9.6% year on year in Canada, sales up 11%
Average residential property prices in Canada were 9.6% higher year on year in June while sales activity is up 11% compared to a year ago, the latest index data shows. On a monthly basis national homes sales edged back, however, down 0.8% from May to June, according to the index from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA). But sales levels in May and June marked the strongest monthly readings in more than five years and June sales were up from the previous month in about half of all local markets, led by increases in Hamilton-Burlington and in the Durham Region of the Greater Toronto Area. And average prices are being pulled up by growth in Greater Vancouver and Greater Toronto. Without these two locations then year on year growth is just 3.1%. Also, the monthly increase in sales there was offset by monthly sales declines in Ottawa and Montreal. The actual, not seasonally adjusted, national average price for homes sold in June 2015 was $453,560 but excluding Greater Vancouver and Greater Toronto it was a more modest $346,904. Low interest rates are helping boost consumer confidence and home sales activity this summer, according to CREA president Pauline Aunger. But she added that low interest rates are benefiting sales in some areas more than others. All real estate is local, with trends affected by a combination of local and national factors. Gregory Klump, CREA's chief economist, explained that records sales prices in Greater Toronto would be even higher were it not for an ongoing shortage of listings for single family homes in the area. ‘The combination of strong demand and a shortage of listings is continuing to fuel single family home price increases,’ he added. The number of newly listed homes for sale was little changed, down a marginal 0.2% in June compared to May, marking the third consecutive month in which they remained stable. There was roughly an even split between the number of local markets showing an increase in new listings and those showing a decline. The national sales to new listings ratio was 57.2% in June. Although little changed from its reading the previous month, it is up from the low of 50.4% in January when it reached its most balanced point since March 2013. The ratio has risen steadily along with sales over the first half of the year while new supply has remained stable. A sales to new listings ratio between 40 and 60 per cent is generally consistent with balanced housing market conditions, with readings above and below this range indicating sellers' and buyers' markets respectively. Continue reading
House price growth confidence hit new high in UK after general election
Confidence in the outlook for house price growth in the UK hit its highest level in four years following the general election in May, but dropped back last month. The dip in confidence in June comes despite continued rise in real wage growth, together with record low numbers of homes available for sale pushing average house prices over £200,000 for the first time ever, according to the Housing Market Confidence Tracker report from the Halifax. House Price Optimism (HPO) hit +68 in May 2015, and although it slipped back slightly in June to +64 it remains substantially higher than at the beginning of the year when it was +52 in the January survey. Nevertheless, while the May high was short lived, the percentage of Britons predicting an increase in the average property price of more than 5% over the next 12 months has still risen from 34% to 38% in the last quarter, comparing the March and June 2015 measures, respectively. This increased optimism also corresponds with a fall in the net figure for buying sentiment from +35 in February 2015 to +25 in June 2015. Some 56% said in June they think it will be a good time to buy property over the next 12 months, compared to 61% who said this in February 2015. At the same time there’s been an increase in the net figure for selling sentiment from +27 in February 2015 to +32 in June 2015. With the Governor of the Bank of England saying improving economic figures means an interest rate rise has moved closer, 48% expect mortgage interest rates to be higher in 12 months’ time compared to 45% in the first quarter of the year. Londoners are less likely than those in any other region to say it is a good time to buy at 38% compared with 56% of Britons overall, making it the only region where the proportion who think the next 12 months will be a bad time to buy exceeds the proportion who think it will be a good time. Those in the South East are more confident than in any other region that house prices will be higher in 12 months’ time at 90% compared to 69% of Britons overall, with those in the North East and the West Midlands the least likely to say this, both at 59%. ‘Economic growth, together with increasing real earnings growth and historic low mortgage rates are all supporting the continued rise in house price optimism. It’s not been a smooth increase though as while there was a noticeable spike in optimism straight after the General Election result, this has now fallen off slightly,’ said Martin Ellis, housing economist at the Halifax. ‘A key factor in maintaining optimism over house price growth has been the fact that the stock of homes available for sale is currently at record low levels. If this growth is to be sustainable then we need to… Continue reading
