TSI
Survey reveals majority of UK tenants are satisfied with current landlord
Some 81% of UK tenants renting their home in the private rented sector are satisfied with their current landlord and 70% believe their rent is value for money, new research has found. The survey also found that 82% said they consider the property they rent to be their home, a fifth of respondents said in the long term they plan to buy their own home and 35% said they expect to stay in the PRS. The survey, carried out during the first quarter of the year for specialist buy to let lender, Paragon Mortgages also revealed that 12% of tenants felt uncomfortable approaching their landlord about extending their tenancy agreement and 6% who had asked for a longer tenancy were refused. However, 57% said they had always been happy with the tenancy offered and 17% had asked for a longer term and their landlord had agreed. ‘The research is really interesting. It is important that we understand the world from the tenant’s viewpoint so we can continue to deliver products that support better standards in the private rented sector,’ said John Heron, the firm’s director of Mortgages. ‘There has been a lot of noise around the need for longer term tenancies for some time and I think there is a common misconception that landlords are not willing to be flexible in the tenancies they offer. Our landlord research demonstrates that many are more than willing to extend terms and in 71% of cases it was the tenant who chose to end the tenancy and not the landlord,’ he explained. ‘We are big supporters of offering longer term tenancies and we were one of the first buy to let lenders to announce we would support the Government’s new model lease and allow landlords to offer 36 month tenancies to those tenants who need that extra security, as we believe this is our social responsibility,’ he added. Continue reading
UK property prices up 3% month on month with record highs across the country
UK residential property prices have risen to a new record as buyers act but sellers hold back with six out of 10 regions posting price highs, the latest real estate index shows. Prices were up 3% or £8,460 to an average of £294,351 and the clear cut general election result is regarded as having boosted the market, according to the May index from online portal Rightmove. It also reveals tighter supply in the market with number of properties coming to market down 8.5% on same period a year ago, though £2 million plus properties buck this trend with and 86% month on month leap in new listings. The firm says that such high demand and low supply highlights the urgency for the delivery of more new build homes. ‘Some buyers had been holding back in the weeks before the election, leading to some sellers suffering an unseasonal price standstill in the late spring. In particular, sentiment and prices got hit in the mooted mansion tax price brackets. Now the unexpected election outcome has caused a strong rebound, prompting an upturn in buyer demand and helping new seller asking prices to hit their highest ever levels,’ said Miles Shipside, Rightmove director and housing market analyst. ‘Agents report that the election surprise has given a boost to market sentiment, driven by more certainty about future economic and taxation policies. While would be buyers have been able to respond quickly to these events, many potential sellers have so far failed to come to market. This has pushed up some of the asking prices of those properties that have been marketed, meaning that buyers are faced with paying a new average record price high for the more limited choice available. It could be said that this is the price of political certainty,’ he added. But he pointed out that pre-election jitters contributed to a small fall of 0.1% in Rightmove’s May index, which has made the size of the rebound in June appear somewhat more dramatic. However, while June’s 3% rise is partly catching up on lost ground from last month’s fall, it is also a reflection of strong housing demand not being matched by suitable supply in many parts of the country. He says that evidence of this is that six out of 10 regions have set new record price highs this month as the supply/demand imbalance and consequent upwards price pressure continue to head further north. As well as the four southern regions, both the East Midlands and West Midlands reached all-time price highs this month. London has seen the strongest monthly price performance, up by 5.7%, aided by the higher priced boroughs seeing more top end owners willing to come to market now that the threat of the mansion tax has been removed. Continue reading
Spanish property market still on a roller coaster
The roller coaster nature of the Spanish property market recovery is laid bare with the latest data on prices showing that the slowdown has not yet gone, nor has the difference between official figures and those from real estate firms. The latest figures from valuations company Tinsa show that at a national level property prices are still falling although there are regions where they are rising while the latest data from the Housing Department show prices falling slightly. The Tinsa data for May, based on the company’s own valuations, shows that average national house prices were down 3.6% year on year but this global figure hides considerable regional variations. For example the biggest price falls are in provincial capitals and large cities with a decline of 4.9%, while house prices on the Mediterranean coast were down 2.3% and in the Balearics and Canaries there was a fall of 2.1%. However, year on year house prices on the coast are up 1.4% compared to May 2014 but are still down 48.8% compared to the peak of the market and according to Tinsa the national average peak to present fall is 42.1%. According to the government figures the average price for Spanish property fell a 0.11% in the first three months of this year, the smallest quarterly decline since the economic crisis began and down from a fall of 0.36% in the last quarter of 2014. This takes the average property price to €1,458 per square meter and this is down 36.3%, adjusting for inflation, since the peak of the market in 2008 when it was €2,100 per square metre. A regional breakdown of the figures shows that seven autonomous regions registered year on year price growth led by the Canaries up by 3.56%, Aragon up 1.9%, Madrid up 1.67%, the Valencian Community up 0.69%, Extremadura up 0.57%, the Balearics up 0.1% and Andalusia up 0.05%. The rest of Spain is still seeing annual price decreases. In Asturias prices have fallen by 6.53 year on year, by 3.72% in Castilla-León, by 3.15% in Navarra, by 2.29% in Galicia, and by 1.47% in the Basque Country. According to the Housing Price Index (HPI) published by the National Statistics Institute, the price of homes rose by 1.5% in the first quarter of the year, compared to the same period of 2014, which is below the 1.8% price increase recorded at the end of 2014. But the index has recorded four consecutive quarters of year on year increases following six years of declines. The index also shows that prices for new homes are rising faster than others. Second hand homes say a rise of 1.1% in the first quarter of the year while new home prices rose by 4%. Continue reading
