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Survey reveals 88% of people in London have had a bad time from estate agents
Over 4.4 million in the UK feel that an estate agent had broken promises with more people in London having a bad experience than any other part of the country, new research has found. Indeed, in London 15% felt an estate agent broke their promises and 88% said they had a bad experience with an estate agent, more than any other region in the UK. While, overall 9% of the UK felt there was a lack of transparency from estate agents. The research by estate agency, Strawberry Star, also found different age groups experienced different issues. For example, 8% of 25 to 34 year olds felt pressured into buying a house by an estate agent, twice the national average. It also found that the top frustration for just over 7.5 million people across the UK is ‘the agent’s overriding interest’ in commission rather than concentrating on finding the right property for their client, with 18% of respondents in London stating so. Strawberry Star said it is offering a new approach and clients will able to choose how much of the commission fee they pay, depending on their experience of the service from the pre-sale stage to post sales service. Dorian Beresford, the firm’s chief executive officer, said the aim is to place an overriding level of attention on the relationship value behind the sale or purchase of a property, as opposed to purely the transactional value it holds. ‘Consumers both at home and overseas continue to be dramatically underserved by their agents. The level of unsatisfied customers here in the UK is astonishing and representative of the frankly abysmal service delivered by many in the industry,’ said Beresford. ‘We feel it is our obligation to redress the balance and put the power back into the hands of the public by literally putting our money where our mouth is. No tie-in periods, no false promises and if the client is not delighted by our service they get to choose how much of our fee to pay,’ he explained. The firm has a headquarters in central London, offices in Singapore and Hong Kong and plans for a further 25 UK offices are in the pipeline with expansion into India, China and the Middle East also on the cards over the next five years. ‘We put people over property and ensure every single one of our clients, whether owners, occupiers or investors from the UK and abroad, feel that they are receiving a personalised service and are dealing with people that genuinely care about what matters to them. This commitment stands throughout every stage of the buying, moving, selling and letting process,’ added Beresford. The firm believes that the UK will continue to be popular amongst Asian real estate investors with Singapore and Hong Kong based investment now accounting for 90% of international purchases in the London new build market alone. Continue reading
Low housing supply in the US squeezing affordability
Rental affordability is as bad as it's ever been across the United States, in part because there are not enough new, affordable homes to meet demand, new research suggests. Overall, renters can expect to spend 30.1% of their income on rent, while home buyers can expect to spend about 15.3% of their monthly income on a mortgage payment, according to a study by real estate analyst Zillow. It also found that affordability is worst in fast growing cities that have fallen behind in building homes to keep up with population growth. The firm’s latest rental index is up 3.4% year on year to $1,355 per month while its property price index is up 4.9% to £178,700. Affordability is best in places that either have slow population growth such as Detroit or have met new growth by building new housing units. Chicago, for example, permitted 906 new housing units in 2012 and 2013 for every 1,000 new residents between 2013 and 2014. The index report says that in Chicago renters can expect to spend about 31% of their income on rent, while homebuyers there can expect to put 13.9% of their income toward house payments. It suggests that it is easy to see how San Francisco has become one of the country's least affordable housing markets. Zillow's analysis showed that for every 1,000 new residents, there were just 193 new housing units permitted. Residents of the San Francisco metro can expect to spend 44% of their income on rent, or 39.2% on a monthly mortgage payment. The short supply is no secret to policy makers. The mayor of San Francisco, for example, has pledged to add 30,000 housing units by 2020 and a Boston city report made a similar recommendation to meet demand with 53,000 new housing units by 203o. ‘As the economy continues to improve, more Americans are slowly moving off of their buddies' couches and out of their parents' basements into homes of their own, first likely as renters and then eventually as home buyers,’ said Zillow chief economist Stan Humphries. ‘Unfortunately, the supply of affordable homes, especially affordable rentals, is insufficient in many areas to meet this growing demand. As a result, the competition for those homes that are available can often be fierce, driving up prices and contributing to worsening affordability,’ he explained. ‘More construction will help ease the crunch, and getting a mortgage is also getting easier, which will help more current renters transition to home ownership and further ease rental inventory shortages. But these fixes won't happen overnight,’ he added. Since 2000, rents have grown at roughly twice the pace of incomes. Partially as a result, the percentage of Americans citing cheaper housing as a reason they moved to a different home has almost doubled since then, from 5.6% to 9.6% currently, according to the US Census Bureau. Over the past several years, renting, historically a budget minded choice, has become increasingly less affordable. Meanwhile, recovering home prices, along with historically… Continue reading
Buyers pay over 12% more on average for a property on the UK coast
Living by the coast in the UK comes at a price with homes within 100 metres of the sea worth 12.4% more on average than property up to a kilometre away. But there is also substantial variation between locations, according to international real estate adviser, Savills, which has mapped coastal premiums for the first time. The coastal premium is highest in England at 18.7%, compared to 16.6% in Wales and just 1.2% in Scotland, where the coastline is vast and complex. ‘In our survey of people looking to move home last year, we found that the view from a property is the most valued attribute that buyers are looking for and for many, a sea view is as good as it gets. That means living by the sea comes at a cost, with a clear price premium for proximity to the coast,’ said Sophie Chick of Savills research. In England, the highest coastal premiums occur in the north of the country. The North East and Yorkshire and the Humber carry the greatest premiums at 41.3% and 36.1% respectively, although average prices are highest in the South West and South East. There is also considerable variation in the premium at a regional level and this probably reflects the popularity of some coastlines over others. Merseyside holds the highest coastal premium, with properties near the sea selling for an average of £357,000, some 86.5% higher than those inland. Overall Dorset has the most expensive coastline of any county, with an average sale price of £393,000 and a premium of 46.1%, reflecting the high prices in the ultra prime coastal hotspots of Sandbanks and Canford Cliffs. ‘Counties such as Devon often hold a wider coastal premium than our 100 metre cut off, which dilutes the difference paid for proximity to the coast. On the other hand, counties with remote coastal locations such as Grampian in Scotland have lower premiums, as isolated areas drive down average prices,’ explained Chick. Continue reading
